


The Story of Goldilocks and the Three Dads

by AllieChick, erenjaegerwa



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Family, Multi, Non-Binary Hange Zoë, Polyamory, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-12 08:39:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 45,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2102820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllieChick/pseuds/AllieChick, https://archiveofourown.org/users/erenjaegerwa/pseuds/erenjaegerwa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erwin, Levi, and Eren have been in a healthy three-way relationship for years when they decide they might want to start a family. It's anything but conventional, but they've never been conventional, anyway, and doing what's right has always come natural. Adding a baby to the mix just felt right. Besides, if anything, three dads are better than one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Look, it's an Eruriren domestic AU! This fic is already a monster and it's going to be a long ride. We're really excited about this collab and hopefully others will be, too. A lot of it is self-indulgent on our part, but this side of the fandom could definitely use some family AU fluff (with a niiiice healthy side of angst and plot), so we are providing it. Bring on the baby and non-traditional families!

Eren heard the disgruntled noise behind him before he actually felt Levi's arms reaching around him, and he was almost positive that was the only reason he was able to grab the older man's arm before he got to his target, which was probably the various spices he’d lined up on the counter. He grinned at the scoff it earned him and shook his head, linking their fingers together and squeezing once before letting go. Levi grunted in return. "Levi, I told you, I'm still using this stuff. If you want to clean something, the other side of the kitchen's free game." It wasn't the first time it had happened, but any irritation he might have felt was masked by the fondness. 

It had been a while since he and Levi had just been like this. The kitchen smelled like beef broth and spices, cilantro and peppers and boiling potatoes, and Levi still smelled like fresh soap from his second shower of the day (and it was kind of ridiculous that even after all this time, Eren's cheeks went pink when he thought about why he'd had to take it). The rain outside was light enough that it didn't threaten to cause any problems, no falling trees or death by lightening, wasn't loud enough to disturb them, but heavy enough that they could hear it against the roof and the windows and watch it trickle down the sliding door in their sitting room. They'd been curled up on the couch all day, and Eren couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Well, maybe one thing. 

"You haven't touched that paprika in the last hour, brat," was Levi's retort, and when Eren turned around to check, he was scowling, but the way his thin lips were pursed made it seem like more of a pout. He turned back to chopping carrots to hide the way his grin was spreading over his cheeks. "And I don't see why you're making such a big deal. Erwin said he might not even be able to make it home for dinner. This is way too much for the two of us." 

And that was it. 

"I've got to add it in later for taste." Levi didn't say anything, obviously waiting. Eren sighed, shrugging one shoulder in feigned nonchalance. "And in case he does, I'm making enough for all of us. He can reheat it, anyway." He put more effort than necessary into chopping the next carrot, watching as the knife cut in. "You guys both take leftovers to work sometimes. It's not a big deal, Levi." 

Levi knew him better than that. Strong arms wrapped around his waist from behind, and Eren melted right into them. "You know he's trying, Eren. We both are. It's a fucking miracle I got off, and you expect those bastards to let Erwin go, too?" He snorted, and Eren lips pulled up again, the obvious disdain in his tone making him feel less bitter about the whole thing. "He'd be here if he could be. But he's Erwin Smith, and apparently we've got to share him."

Eren's eyebrows furrowed at that, his arm making another overly aggressive chopping motion. "I don't like it," he stated bluntly, throwing the chopped orange pieces into the pot and watching them mix in with everything else. 

He felt Levi smirk against the back of his neck as he placed a kiss there, right in the spot that made him shiver. "Me either, kid. But c'est la vie." 

They worked in silence after that. Or at least Eren did, slicing onions and peppers and letting Levi scrub at the chopping board to his heart's content when he was finished with it. It was comfortable, the way they moved around each other, the way Levi leaned against the freshly cleaned counter with a glass of wine and Eren stirred at the pot, the way they listened to the rain. Levi's face was expressionless, blank, but Eren had learned that just meant he was thinking, and the best thing to do was to leave him to his thoughts. He fell into his own, his eyes wandering away. 

There was a group photo stuck to the fridge with a magnet they'd bought on their trip to Europe, something silly and sentimental and useless that Eren had insisted on. Eren was in the middle of the two of them, Erwin's arm stretching over his shoulders and onto Levi's, Levi's arm around his waist. Levi was glaring at the camera and using one hand to shield his eyes from the sun because none of them had thought to wear sunglasses that day, not when it was overcast, and Erwin's lips were turned up and parted just slightly, making Eren think he'd been halfway to one of the warm, deep chuckles that always rumbled from his chest and reached Eren no matter what he was doing, sending that spark all the way through his body. His free hand was gripping tight to the backpack they'd brought with them, and Eren knew it held the picnic lunch they'd had on the top of a mountain somewhere where the air was thin and they'd made it thinner. He couldn't remember if it was Belgium or France and he didn't think it mattered, because it hadn't even mattered then. Levi had complained about how dirty the ground was. He'd shaken out the blanket three times before he'd let them all sit down on it, but he'd let them both ravish him on it anyway. That was the stuff he remembered. 

His eyes had always been naturally drawn to the two of them, right from the start, but the thing about this picture in particular was that he always found his eyes drawn to himself instead. 

He didn't look any different than usual. Younger, maybe. His cheeks were rounder back then, his hair was longer, some parts of his shaggy fringe hitting the apple of his cheeks. He hadn't fully grown into himself yet, his body more gangly and lanky than anything, more baby fat and muscle he didn't know what to do with. The baggy t-shirt hid everything he was too embarrassed to show, advertising a band he couldn't remember liking anymore, his ripped jeans faded and worn out. He'd gotten better clothes and a gym membership since then. 

It was his eyes, though. That was what always got him.

He'd asked Mikasa once why she'd eventually come around to the idea of his relationship. Relationships. Whichever. It was a tough thing for anyone to swallow, and part of him hadn't even expected it, hadn't even been sure if he'd wanted her to be alright with it. He'd been just-legal-eighteen, straight out of high school when he'd sprung it on her that he was dating not only one man twice his age, but two. She'd always been protective, a little overbearing, and she'd been just as angry as he'd expected her to be when he first told her. But she wasn't anymore.

"Because, Eren," she'd sighed, her back turned to him, "It's the way you look when you're around them. You glow again." Her face hadn't held anything he could see when she turned around, completely calm, but he'd seen the faint, resigned smile on her lips. "If I have to deal with a midget and walking eyebrows to see that again, I will."

Eren still beamed like he did in the picture.

"Something smells delicious." 

All of Eren's attention was dragged away in an instant, completely captured by the blond man standing in the archway that led to the kitchen. Levi had moved before him, and he grinned at the way Erwin reached for him and picked him up despite his protesting, their lips locked together as they made an awkward half-spin and Levi muttered something insulting against his lips, none of them bothering to care what it was. Whatever Erwin was holding was dropped to the ground (gently, though, Eren noticed), and then he was being captured in a kiss, too, the space between them covered in a few heavy steps. Erwin's hand was on the small of his back and it felt like they blended together for a second. Levi's fingers stroked against his hip.

Eren was dizzy when Erwin pulled back, and he wondered if that was ever going to go away, because it was probably something to worry about. 

"I'm making my mom's stew," he said in greeting, still breathless. Erwin smiled. "What'd you bring?"

"Chocolate fudge cheesecake." Eren hummed in pleasure, and Erwin chuckled at the noise that got from Levi. His free arm wrapped tightly around the other man, bringing him closer. Eren nuzzled into Levi's shoulder and grinned at the look he got for his efforts. "And cherry pie."

Levi leaned up to kiss Erwin's cheek. Eren almost forgot he was still making dinner.

 

They were halfway through dessert by the time Eren had the courage to bring it up. He almost didn't, watching Erwin attempting to feed Levi a piece of pie and Levi stubbornly resisting.

"Hey," he said, snapping the attention to him. Levi managed to swat away the fork being aimed at his mouth. "You guys know my friends Ymir and Krista, right?"

Erwin nodded, undeterred. "The tall one with the freckles and the blonde. We were at their wedding." Eren couldn't help grinning at that, remembering the conversation he'd had about a plus two instead of a plus one. He was still pretty sure Ymir had only said anything because she liked starting shit with anyone who wasn't Krista.

"The lesbians," Levi added. 

Eren rolled his eyes, but he was still grinning anyway, even with the nerves unsettling his stomach. Stew probably hadn't been the best idea, especially not with how thick his mom used to make it, but it was the only recipe he'd thought of. "Yeah, my friends, the lesbians. Anyway..." He hesitated, scratching at his cheek. "I was talking to them the other day, and they were telling me how they're thinking about starting a family and stuff, maybe sometime soon. Maybe adopting, maybe getting pregnant themselves. Like, in vitro." He shrugged, looking around the table for reactions.

Levi took another dainty bite of pie. Erwin smiled. "That's great, Eren. From what I saw, that baby will be loved. We'll have to buy them something to help them along." 

Eren swallowed hard and covered it up with a bite of cheesecake. 

Levi and Erwin were talking about work by the time he managed to snap himself out of it. It was stocks and bottom lines and Skype conferences and the meeting next week and nothing he cared about. As much as he would support them, give them backrubs when they had hard days, cook dinner for when they got home, Eren had never actually cared about what they did, even if he thought it was admirable. He figured it was one of the reasons they liked him so much. They'd made it clear from the start they got enough work at work.

Erwin was in the middle of saying something when it slipped from his lips.

"I want it to be us." He paused, letting both heads snap to him before he continued. "What Ymir and Krista are doing, I mean. I want it to be us." 

Someone's fork clattered against a plate. Eren's eyes were on the half-eaten slice of cheesecake on his own, so he couldn't tell whose.

"Eren?" It was Erwin's voice, level, calm. He gripped his fork tighter and fought for his resolve. 

"I know we can't..." He took a breath, shrugging helplessly. "I know we can't do the whole in vitro thing, and honestly the thought of getting someone pregnant with one of us is weird, but we can still adopt, right? I don't know how the whole thing works, but single parents do it, and gay couples, so it can't be that different for us and I'm sure there's someone out there that'd be okay with it, because we know people who are. Way more people than I thought, actually. You've got really high paying jobs and we've got this huge house with too many guest rooms because of Hanji and Armin and Mikasa and stuff, and it's brand new and we've got a backyard and everything. That's stuff they look for, isn't it?" He took a long, deep breath, still not willing to look up. "It's just... I know we haven't ever talked about it or anything, but I've been thinking about it." 

Levi was the one who took the deep breath. Eren expected it, but it still made him ache a little when he realized how the corner of his lips were turned down. "It's not like getting a puppy, Eren," he said, and Eren flinched. Levi rubbed a hand against his forehead, obviously realizing how harsh he'd sounded. "If that's what you want, something cute to take care of, we'll get a cat or something. You know Erwin's been going on about one for fucking forever." 

Erwin usually took that opportunity to discuss said cat and how Levi wanted it just as much as he and Eren did. He didn't this time. He was staring straight ahead, his back perfectly straight. 

Eren felt cold. "That's not what I want," he snapped, scowling. "If I'd wanted a cat, I would have said that. I'm being serious."

"Eren," Erwin cut in, tone mild, "Remember when we first got together, and we warned you that you might miss out on the conventional with us?" His jaw was set tightly, his eyes hardened in that way they always did when he was trying not to show. It was his business face, Levi said.

He rarely used it with them anymore.

Eren's stare was incredulous, mouth gaping for a long moment before he could even form words. "Are you kidding? Is that what you think this is?" He looked between the both of them, the silence his answer. "It's not about that! Look, I don't want to raise a family with someone the normal way. I'm not regretting anything. I want it with you guys, or not at all. What's so bad about that?" 

Levi wasn't looking at him, his eyes on Erwin. "How long have you been thinking about this?"

Eren grunted, still irritated. "A while," he admitted. "Since we bought the new house, I guess." 

Erwin pushed his plate away from him and the sound was louder than it should have been. "It's been a long day, Eren," he sighed. "Maybe now's not the best time to talk about this."

Eren nodded and pretended his heart hadn't just sunk into his stomach. Levi wordlessly took their plates to the kitchen. They all went into separate rooms after dinner.

 

It was a good week and a half before anyone brought it up again. 

Eren had almost forgotten about it in the whirlwind of the last week. Mikasa had come down to visit and brought Armin along with her, and they'd spent as much time as possible catching up. It meant less time around Erwin and Levi, but it wasn't like he would have noticed with how much they were working lately. There was some big merger happening with the company and they were home just barely long enough to crawl into bed before heading off to work the next morning. The one day Erwin had taken off to spend time with the three of them while Levi handled things at the office, he'd spent the majority in his home office anyway, answering emails and phone calls and coming out at random intervals to apologize. He'd even bailed out on his favorite restaurant.

Eren would have been upset if he hadn't noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the frustration bubbling up under the calm. He'd given Erwin a full body massage that night.

Mikasa and Armin had left a few hours ago, though, leaving the house strikingly empty and quiet. The last he'd checked, Levi had been cleaning the guest rooms they'd occupied and Erwin was in his office like usual, finishing things off. "I'll just check my emails," he said, "And then I'll be right down."

Eren was pretty sure that had been an hour ago. He tried to focus on whatever was on the TV, propping his feet up on the arm of the couch. Someone was stuffing sardines in hamburgers.

"Oi, brat. Feet off." 

Eren grinned at the reprimand, pointedly crossing his feet and wiggling his bare toes. "Why? What're you going to do about it?"

He got his answer when Levi promptly pushed him off the couch and then pulled him onto his lap, but he was no longer surprised by his strength. Eren was drifting against Levi's chest, legs dangling half off the leather, when Erwin finally came down.

No one said anything about how exhausted he looked, or how he was rubbing at his bad shoulder. 

"What are we watching?" he asked, and Eren perked up as he took a seat next to Levi. 

"No idea," Eren answered honestly, shifting with the both of them as they made room, as they readjusted like some well-oiled machine. Levi's legs ended up over Erwin's lap as Erwin massaged at them. Eren settled for curling up against Levi's back, resting his head on his shoulder. Levi hummed when he kissed at that spot behind his ear. "I think it's a cooking show?"

"It's disgusting, is what it is," Levi added. 

They watched someone spill yellow mustard all over a pizza for a good few minutes before Erwin spoke up.

"We've been thinking about what you said, Eren," he started, "The other night."

At first, Eren couldn't even remember what he'd said in the first place. Then it sunk in. His heart practically leaped out of his chest. "Wait, really?"

Levi nodded and he felt it, his head displaced for a second. "Yeah. Really. We've barely had enough time to breathe, but somehow we've been talking about it anyway." He paused and shifted, turning his head. Eren was caught in stormy grey. "You've got to be serious about this, kid. Tell us that you are."

Eren barely wasted a second before he was blurting it out. "I am! I swear, I am."

Erwin was the one to shift all of them, the couch protesting as he pulled Eren closer, catching his lips over Levi's shoulder. He tugged his bottom lip between his teeth, and when he pulled away, Eren remembered all over again why he'd fallen in the first place. "We'd talked about it before you came into the picture. I've always wanted a family, and Levi..." He smirked, and Levi nudged at him, glaring. "It was far in the future, though, something we'd barely given thought to, and when we met you, we put it out of our minds. We figured -- I figured -- it wasn't something that was possible anymore."

"But you're always fucking surprising us," Levi muttered, and it would be impossible not to hear the fond way he said it. 

Eren didn't know what was happening to him, but he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Suddenly what he had wasn't enough, and he was climbing all over them, wanting more of their skin, more of their touch, more of their lips. Erwin laughed softly against his fevered kisses, Levi buried one hand in his hair. They moved together until Eren couldn't remember whose lips were against his anymore or whose legs were tangled with his own. Someone's hand was tugging at his shirt and he only had half a mind to say what he wanted to.

"What made you change your mind?" His voice was breathless, rasped. Levi caught his kiss-swollen lips and whatever else he'd wanted to say was swallowed by his tongue.

"Your eyes," Erwin answered him honestly, and he leaned forward, grinning against Eren's neck. He bit down until Eren gasped. "And I heard something about three fathers being better than one."

"You just killed the mood, you asshole," Levi mumbled, but he went for Erwin's lips anyway, and Eren stayed between them, warmed and wanted and sandwiched.

They didn't ever make it to the bed. Eren had never been so grateful that something like that had happened before and Levi was prepared for everything. 

 

It was a longer process than he'd thought it would be. The first week went fast, Erwin talking to his business partner Mike about a possible adoption agency. Eren didn't know the whole story, but for whatever reason, Mike's wife wasn't able to get pregnant. Apparently, they were more open than other agencies. They took on single parents and gay couples, and more non-traditional families than others tended to. Friends who wanted to raise a child together, older women. "Things of that nature," Erwin had said, as if it were somehow obvious. As soon as they had a profile and were sure that they were fit to raise a child, with the proper means, they would be willing to represent them. 

Eren wondered if they'd ever taken on a couple with three people in it, all of them men, but decided he probably didn't want the answer. Erwin and Mike probably had some connections to do with that, but he wasn't going to ask. His moral compass wasn't necessarily perfectly aligned, but sometimes he had a feeling it was much less out of whack than Erwin and Levi's seemed to be when they had something planned.

It wasn't really the how he cared about, not in this case. No one was getting hurt, and if it meant they had a family, he was willing to do it. 

They came by the house while Erwin and Levi were both at work to look the place over, but they didn't spend long. It probably didn't take a whole lot to realize they were well-off and had more than enough space, but he'd found himself antsy anyway, pacing around whatever room the guy wasn't in and calling Erwin straight after, holding his breath while he waited for the ring to stop. He would have called Levi, but he knew for a fact his phone was off. He hated it going off in meetings. "They came," he said. 

Erwin's voice on the other side of the line was amused, but Eren knew it was probably hiding something else. "And how did that go?"

"I think they're okay with it?" Eren glanced over into the living room from where he was still wearing down the kitchen floor with his sneakers (something Levi would kill him for if he knew). "They seemed like they were, anyway."

"I'm sure everything went fine, Eren," Erwin said, and Eren felt the calm washing over him even though Erwin was miles away in an office building somewhere. "There's nothing we can do but hope right now. Give it time." 

Eren sighed, slumping down into one of the kitchen chairs and swinging his legs. "Yeah, I know. I know this stuff takes a long time. But I guess I just..." He trailed off, shrugging one shoulder even though Erwin couldn't see it. He probably knew he was doing it anyway, like he knew everything else without having to ask. 

He could practically see Erwin's expression over the phone, and he ducked his head, cheeks suddenly hot at the knowing look he would be getting right about now. "Eren, if you're worried about either of us changing our mind before this happens, you don't need to be. Levi and I are fully aware of what a commitment this is, just like you say you are. We're going to follow this through." 

He swung his legs harder, hating how small he sounded when he spoke up again. "Why?"

Erwin was silent for longer than Eren expected. He pulled the phone away from his ear, but the call was still ongoing. He'd settled for chewing on the inside of his cheek by the time Erwin said anything else.

"Because we want a family with you, Eren." There was a short pause, and Eren wasn't sure if Erwin sighed or breathed a bit too heavily, but it probably meant the same thing. "This isn't how I pictured it, you're right. I always thought I'd grow up, get a corporate job, find a wife, have a few kids and move to the suburbs. It's what my parents raised me to do, and I'm sure it's everything Levi never intended to have. But this? What we're doing right now? I never expected it. I never would have planned for it." And planning was something Erwin was very, very good at. Eren knew that from experience. "But it's more than I ever could have hoped for. Somewhere around the time I stopped following in my father’s footsteps, I started to realize I stopped being miserable, too. So don't think for a second that it's not what I want. That's not something you or Levi ever have to worry about. My white picket fence dreams were never nearly as good, and I'm too selfish to go back to them now that I have this." He hesitated, and Eren could hear his smirk. "I've always been too selfish." 

Eren opened his mouth to say something, but Erwin cut him off again.

"I have done plenty of things wrong, Eren, plenty of things I wish I could take back, but this won't be one of them. And you know Levi hates it when I speak for him, but I don't think it's much different for him either."

Eren took a long, slow breath. "Hey, Erwin?"

"Yes?" 

Eren smiled, holding the phone as close to his ear as he could manage. "Get home soon and bring Levi with you." 

"I'll do my best." 

It didn't matter that the pace slowed down after that. The agency gave them a couple calls about potential mothers, but none of them managed to get anywhere. They sent out their profiles, put them on a waiting list. Early spring turned into mid-summer, sweltering heat and a vacation to the Caribbean, and then fall. The trees started to change colors. 

It got pushed to the back of his mind, but Eren didn't stop hoping, and when he caught blue and grey, he knew they were probably thinking the same thing, even if it wasn't in the same way. 

 

Levi didn't know how he'd managed to get himself into this mess.

For some reason, one that still eluded him, the three of them all had a way of attracting people with no families to speak of, or at least families they didn't want to spend their time around. Once upon a time that had only meant Hanji and Petra and the rest of them crowded in an apartment with him and Erwin, but now it meant a full house and more noise than he could block out with the soundproof headphones. He hadn't made a head count, but he was sure he didn't want to. 

"Eren," he snarled. "Can you tell your bratty friends in there to quiet down?" It had less heat than he wanted it to.

Eren was peeking around the corner, that boyish, sheepish smile on his lips as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "I mean, I can try, but Sasha smells food and that means bad news. How's the turkey?"

"She's a beauty," Erwin said from the other side of the kitchen, annoyingly amused by the predicament they'd gotten themselves in. 

Eren's face went pale. "You're not actually..."

"He's not allowed within three feet of the thing," Levi assured. He smirked when Eren let out of a breath of relief, Erwin laughing in good humor. All of them knew how shit he was in the kitchen. "Go set the table, would you? Hanji will probably be here soon, and then we'll finally be at max capacity and we can close the front door and never let anyone in again."

Eren chose to ignore the last few things he said, as usual. "Yeah, sure."

Except he hadn't actually stepped a foot outside of the kitchen before the screech sounded through the house, bouncing off the walls.

"I BROUGHT ALCOHOL!" 

Eren beamed, immediately forgetting his task in true Eren fashion. "Hanji!" 

Levi glared up at the ceiling as he listened to the ruckus in his living room, absolutely positive that people could hear the exchange from deep space. "Eren!" Hanji was shouting rather than speaking, and even with the wall dividing them, he could practically hear them squeezing Eren breathless. "How are you? It's been so long! How are things? Are Levi and Erwin treating you right? Oh, I bet they are! You look so good! Look at your hair, what a cutie, no wonder they eat you up..." 

Erwin chortled in the corner. Levi shot him a look.

"Wait, Hanji! I'll drop the plates!"

"Don't you fucking dare!" Levi snapped from the archway, loud enough that he was sure his voice would travel. "Those are the good china!" 

"Leviiiiiii!" 

He hadn't even blinked before he was in a bone crushing hug and suddenly lifted a few inches off the ground, his feet dangling and his body crushed. He grunted. "Put me down, shitty glasses. Right now."

They did, but only while giving him a shit-eating grin and squeezing him again for good measure. "Oh, good, you haven't gotten less grumpy! Sometimes I worry, you know."

Erwin stepped forward and Hanji gave another squeal as they threw themselves at him, arms wrapped tightly around him. Erwin patted at their back, a bright smile on his lips. "It's good to see you, Hanji. We've missed you." 

Levi pinched at the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to count to three and you're all going to get the fuck out of my kitchen."

Hanji didn't seem bothered by his threatening tone, plopping the bottle of whatever it was on the counter and slapping a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be such a sour puss, Levi. Nice apron, by the way. It's just your style!" 

Eren snickered, suddenly in the doorway again. "I bought it for him," he said, puffing his chest out like it was something to be proud of.

"Out," Levi said again, and this time they all left, laughing and leaving him to his turkey and his disgustingly pink 'Kiss the Cook' apron.

 

Thanksgiving had never been one of his favorite holidays, or even one he bothered to give two shits about, but he could admit to this not being half bad.

There weren't enough seats for all of them. They'd brought some of the chairs from the kitchen table over to the dining room, and some fold up ones from downstairs, but there still wasn't enough room for everyone at the table. Armin had insisted on taking the floor, and when Mikasa had followed, Eren had insisted he needed to be there as well. He still plopped himself right between Levi and Erwin's chairs as he ate on the floor like some kind of dog, the fine china balanced on his knees. 

Everyone had laughed when he'd hand fed the brat a piece of turkey, grimacing in disgust when some stray gravy dribbled down his chin and he followed it with his tongue. "Animal," Levi had accused.

"Woof," Eren had said in return, earning more laughter. Erwin had run a hand through the kid's hair, and he'd tried to hide his smile when Eren had leaned up and reached for his hand, kissing his knuckles. 

Hanji was on Erwin's side. Down the table there was Petra, Oluo, Eld, Gunther. Then Eren's friends, Ymir and Krista, Sasha, Connie, and the one with the face. Levi was pretty sure his name was John. 

"Today's a day to be thankful," Erwin was saying, his cheeks pink with a bit of wine, his face more open than Levi had seen in weeks. Everything about him looked loose. "And I'd like to say something I'm thankful for." 

Eren grinned, leaning his head against Erwin's leg. Levi groaned. "You don't have to do this every year, you old sap."

"But this year I have something different to be thankful for," Erwin countered, his voice catching just slightly, and that got everyone's attention.

"The merger went through, didn't it?" Hanji asked, smiling and slapping a hand on the back of his seat. "Congratulations, Erwin!"

But Erwin shook his head, and Levi's breath got caught in his throat for a second. "It did, but that's not what I'm talking about." He paused, glancing down at Eren before he looked up again. "Something else went through, actually. Something that's much more important to me."

Eren's gasp was probably audible through the entire neighborhood. "The adoption," he whispered, nothing but pure reverence in his tone. Levi could see the first signs of tears shining in those bright eyes, and it made him ache somewhere he'd forgotten how to ache in.

"I found out two days ago, but I was waiting to tell you. There's a woman willing to let us adopt her child. It's nothing official yet, but I'm thinking we can make it work. I was hoping..."

Erwin never finished his sentence before Eren was on him. There were cat calls from the other end of the table.

When Eren went for him next, eager lips on his, strong arms around his shoulders, Levi had to wonder how the fuck he'd gotten here and who he was supposed to thank for it. 

 

The mother of their child (Levi wasn't entirely sure if that was the best way to put it) was seventeen. She had no way of keeping the baby herself, but she wanted it to go to a loving home. She'd only found out the gender of her baby during a recent check up, and it was the only reason they knew. She'd passed it on through a text. Levi had given her all three of their numbers in case of any sort of emergency.

"She seems nice," Eren had commented on the way back from their first visit, but Levi noticed how quiet he was. Erwin noticed more. 

"You think so?" Erwin's arms pulled Eren close, looping around his waist and pulling him against his side. Eren shrugged.

"I don't know, I guess it's just weird." When that wasn't enough explanation for them of them, he sighed. "It's weird we're getting a baby because someone else doesn't want her, but I guess that's not really something I can complain about because it's the only reason any of this is happening. It's just sad. What are we going to tell her when she's older?"

"That she's got three loving fathers," Erwin supplied. "And that societal norms are a son of a bitch." 

Levi burst out laughing at that, and Eren wasn't too far behind. 

"I think I'm finally rubbing off on you, Erwin," he joked, nudging his hips into the older man from the other side.

Erwin smirked. "Oh, you rubbed off on me a long time ago, dear." 

Eren and Levi both elbowed him when his defined eyebrows wiggled for emphasis, but it only made him laugh. 

 

By Christmas, Levi was tripping over baby accessories. 

"Where did this even come from?" He was trying to sound frustrated, but even that sounded weak as he picked up Erwin's newest purchase, a large stuffed rabbit that would be twice the size of a newborn baby anyway. "Erwin, just stick to buying tutus. For fuck's sake, we have nowhere to put any of this. What is she going to do with this thing?"

"She'll grow into it," Erwin insisted from his place on the couch, his arms wrapped around Eren who was happily plopped in his lap. "Besides, that was more Hanji's idea than mine." 

"I think it's a cute," Eren decided he needed to add in, grinning over the back of the couch. "It'll be like she has a life-size friend."

Levi shook his head but came around the couch anyway, letting Erwin pull him into his side once he was in reach. "Erwin was buying dolls as soon as he found out the thing was a girl."

"Our child," Eren corrected, offended. He slapped at Levi's arm.

Levi let himself smile for once, linking his hand with Eren's. Erwin somehow had his arms around both of them. "Our child," he agreed. 

"She's going to be really spoiled," Eren admitted, grinning. "Like, the most spoiled kid on the planet, probably." 

"On all the planets," Levi muttered, shaking his head. 

Erwin's eyes were on the mantle, though, where they had the fire going. Levi couldn't remember if it was him or Eren who had insisted on the stockings, but they'd been doing it since they'd all moved in together. Eren's was in the middle, decorated with too much glitter, anything but tasteful. Erwin's was on the right side, gaudy reindeer and neat script, Levi's on the left, his handwriting impeccable, the red stocking plain save for his name in curved letters. 

And next to Erwin's was a tiny green stocking, BABY GIRL written in Eren's messy chicken scratch. There was a bright red bow glued to the top of it. 

"Next year, she'll be here," Eren breathed, sounding awed by the very idea. "We'll be having Christmas with her, and celebrating Levi's birthday."

"I don't think she'll ever be nearly as excited about the second one," Levi drawled, mostly to draw attention away from the way his lips were pulled up without his permission. 

"I bet she'll love it, having a dad with a birthday on Christmas. I mean, as long as it's not hers." Eren shrugged, laughing. "She gets Christmas desserts and birthday cake, right?"

"I don't think that's how it works, Eren," Erwin cut in, amused. "It's not double the sweets. They're just spread out differently." 

"My baby's teeth are not rotting out of her head before she hits double digits," Levi sighed. "Besides, I don't even like cake." 

Eren gave that one to him, shrugging. "Maybe Emma will like cake."

"Mary," Levi said, meeting Eren's gaze and holding it, his face unimpressed.

"Ophelia," Erwin murmured, pulling them both closer and pressing a kiss to the top of Levi's head. 

Levi snorted, pushing back against Erwin's arms. "Over my dead fucking body are we naming our baby Ophelia, Erwin." 

"It's not bad?" Eren tried, giving an uncertain smile. "I mean, it's not my first pick, but it's not bad."

"We'll work on it," Erwin laughed. They fell into silence, watching the fire burn. 

 

Christmas was less of an affair than Thanksgiving, surprisingly, but they still found themselves exhausted afterwards. Armin and Mikasa had stayed the night to help clean up, but mostly because Eren wouldn't have it any other way. Erwin didn't mind, grateful that they'd picked the house with two guest rooms when the other had recently been converted. He was surprised Eren still allowed it after Armin's recent betrayal, however. 

Names had been the subject of more than one argument, and out of everything they’d disagreed on, seemed to be the one they were most fired up about. They’d made a list somewhere along the line. It had three names at the top – their names – and names underneath each of them. If it was a name either of the two couldn’t live with, they crossed it off. They added to it at random intervals. After a while, it’d become somewhat of a game. Erwin liked to think he was winning. 

They'd given them the sheet of paper with their choices of names, careful not to tell them who each of them belonged to (Eren hastily covered the top part with tape and Levi pointed out how stupid that was), leaving the crossed out ones as well. When Armin chose Rosalind over Amelia, Eren had been none too pleased. Levi and Mikasa rarely saw completely eye to eye, but when Mikasa agreed that Julia was a simple, pretty name, Erwin thought they might have found a newfound respect for each other, at least on Levi's end.

His parents had stopped by for a brief visit, giving generic presents as usual. His mother had even kissed him on the cheek this time. "Merry Christmas, Erwin," his father had said, awkwardly standing in the doorway while his mother loaded up the car with leftovers and the presents they'd gotten them (equally as generic, because Erwin wasn't entirely sure what they liked anymore). "Good luck with everything, son."

He'd handed him a baby rattle. 

It was likely the closest he was ever going to get to approval, and he'd found it a valiant effort if nothing else, smiling at the strong grip as they shook hands.

"The watch they got me is pretty cool," Eren had commented later when they'd all found themselves in the living room again, his head in Mikasa's lap as they sat near the tree. Armin was reading the book Eren had bought him (with Levi's help). "I'm pretty sure it does everything. Like, you can get on the Internet with it, just in case my phone and everything else breaks."

"You're never going to use that, brat," Levi pointed out, and Eren's grin was sheepish enough that his denial meant nothing.

That was all over, though. They'd headed to bed hours ago, which was why it confused him when he rolled over and only found one warm body against him. Eren snored loudly as he gripped onto a pillow in Levi's absence, and Erwin couldn't help smiling at the bit of drool he was creating, knowing it would disgust Levi if he'd been the one to see it. His brown hair was mussed and unruly, all over the pillow. When Erwin reached down to tuck a strand out of his face and stroke a hand across his cheek, he mumbled something in his sleep.

A glance around the dark room told him Levi's slippers were missing from the side of the bed. He carefully got to his feet.

Levi wasn't downstairs. He wasn't in the kitchen, the sitting room, the living room or the office. It was a last ditch effort to check the nursery, but that was where he found him.

Levi was huddled against the crib they'd bought a month ago, his head bowed. Erwin thought he might have fallen asleep like that, but he realized his shoulders were moving with each heavy breath he took. It nearly broke him.

"Levi?"

Levi looked up when his name was called, but he didn't look Erwin in the eyes. He was staring straight ahead. "I don't like this color. The peach." He nodded towards the pink trim they'd painted just a week or so ago. Levi had been the one to pick it out. "It doesn't go with the yellow."

Erwin gave a cautious nod, slowly stepping across the room. Levi didn't move away when he sat beside him, but rather leaned into him. "Alright. We'll find another shade of pink, then. Maybe a magenta."

They'd had a rather big argument about the color of the nursery. Erwin had suggested pinks and purples, something cute and traditional for their baby girl, but Eren had protested against it with every ounce of passion he used for anything else he cared about. Since they couldn't raise their girl to think in terms of archaic gender roles, Levi was the one to come to the compromise.

The walls were yellow with pink and green trim. That wasn't what Levi was worried about right now, though, and Erwin knew it. 

Levi's head tucked into his shoulder, and Erwin stroked his hair and his back, waiting patiently for him to talk. He'd almost drifted off by the time he heard Levi's voice, barely a whisper in the otherwise silent room. 

"I don't know if I can do this." 

Erwin took a deep breath, resting his hand against the small of Levi's back and rubbing soothing circles there. "What makes you say that?"

Levi looked up at him, and even in the dark Erwin could see that he wasn't impressed at all with that response. He scowled. "What do I know about babies, Erwin? Or families? Fuck." He pulled away from Erwin's shoulder, nearly banging his head against the crib when he rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. "When I was a kid, I was teaching myself how to do illegal shit and get away with it. I had no one to tell me what I was supposed to be doing, and I'm pretty sure I was the biggest mistake my parents ever made. No one was around to tell me what was right and wrong, so I did what I had to do. So, what? What am I supposed to do with that? Teach my own kid to be fucked up? To not know how to handle anything? I don't know how to do the stuff normal people are supposed to do. I didn't even think I'd ever have this, and every second I'm just waiting for something to break. That's what I do." Levi sucked in a breath. "I wait for things to break, and then I get out and pretend it didn't break me, too."

Erwin nodded, his throat dry as he pulled Levi close again. The other man didn't protest. "But you don't want to break this," he said.

"But I don't want to break this," Levi echoed. "Not you, not him, and definitely not her. It's not her fault her dad's thirty-two and still has no fucking clue how to be a person." 

Erwin smirked, pressing his lips against the top of Levi's head and holding him tight. "If it helps, her other dad is nearly forty and is just recently learning exactly what that entails."

Levi glared up at him, but Erwin thought he saw a hint of his lips twitching up into a smile. They fell into silence, and Levi was the one to break it again.

"What if she turns out like me?" 

Erwin shrugged, his chin still resting on the top of Levi's head. "Then we'll be lucky. In for a bumpy ride, maybe, but lucky." He paused. "And the house will always be spotless," he teased, hoping to lighten the mood.

Levi snorted, nudging him hard in the arm but pressing closer anyway.

Erwin didn't know how long it was before Eren showed up in the doorway, shirtless and rubbing at his eyes, everything about him disgruntled. "You guys left me," he accused, the whine clear in his tone. "I woke up alone."

Erwin realized Levi was shaking in his arms because he was laughing. He opened his arms. 

"Come here, Eren."

Eren slipped into Levi's arms, and they all leaned back. 

"Merry Christmas," Levi whispered into Eren's hair.

"Happy Birthday, Levi," Eren murmured back, into the crook of Levi's neck. He settled in, his breathing evening out after a few moments. 

Erwin didn't even mind waking up with a monster of a crick in his neck. 

 

It was a week after New Year’s when Erwin got the call. 

Eren and Levi were bickering about the leftover champagne, of which they had an abundance of after Hanji's New Year’s visit. Eren was laughing, having managed to pop a bottle open. It was spraying all over the kitchen and Levi was throwing a fit, but the curses that left his lips as he reached around Eren's waist and hoisted him up were anything but truly angry. Eren giggled as he was lifted, tanned arms and legs flailing. 

"You're fucking disgusting," Levi was saying, as Eren kicked and fake struggled. "Why do we even keep you around? You're going to clean that up, brat."

Eren laughed loudly. "Aye aye, sir!" He mock saluted with the arm he wasn't using to keep himself balanced against Levi's shoulder. 

"And don't you forget it." 

Erwin was numb, unable to move as he watched them from the doorway. 

Levi was the first to notice, the smirk on his lips gone in an instant. He set Eren down and moved in close, his face cautiously blank. "What's wrong?" 

Eren picked up on the mood, forgetting the champagne. He moved in on Erwin's other side, and Erwin was grateful, certain that he was barely keeping himself upright. 

"The adoption," he said, but it was all he could say.

Eren's eyes went wide immediately. "What about it? What's wrong with the adoption? Is the mother okay?"

Levi was watching him carefully, and Erwin knew it was because he wasn't anything but calm now. His expression was blank as he stared ahead, nothing but his clenched jaw any sort of clue as to how he was feeling, and he didn't know what else to do. He didn't know how to be anything but calm in a situation like this, anything but pragmatic. 

"It fell through," he told them, his own words sounding hollow to him, completely devoid of the emotion they deserved. He wasn't looking at them. 

It was too quiet in the kitchen after that. There was the sound of the chair Levi pulled out scraping against the floor, but that was all. Erwin knew he needed time to process. It was Eren with his back to them both that worried him.

His shoulders were shaking. 

"Eren." 

Erwin didn't even flinch when Eren lashed out, throwing something clear against the kitchen. 

It was Levi's scoff that surprised him. "What did you expect?" His words were cold, harsh. Spit through his teeth. "There's three of us, we're all gay, we've got corporate jobs and no fucking time to deal with this, and you thought we'd be the first choice? Of course she'd pick someone else or keep the baby if she had the option. Don't be stupid."

Eren's eyes were on fire when he turned around, bright and green and dangerous. Every part of his body was shaking. His hands were clenched tightly as his sides. He looked wild, he looked enraged.

He looked as broken as Erwin felt.

"Fuck you, Levi," he spat, every word coming out slow and deliberate, his face twisted in more agony than he'd ever wanted to see there. Erwin had to turn away. "Fuck you."

They listened to the front door slam. 

Levi picked whatever it was Eren had thrown up from the floor. Erwin opened his arms wordlessly, and Levi stepped into them. He rested his chin against Levi's hair. "He'll come back," he said. 

"Yeah." Levi's voice was completely dead, no inflection at all. "I know."

Erwin looked down at what Levi was holding, his grip white-knuckled. Eren had thrown a baby bottle.

 

Eren found them in the nursery when he came back. It was three in the morning.

Levi was curled up against Erwin's side, his face hidden. The light was off. Erwin looked up when he stepped into the room, and Eren sucked in a breath. "I'm sorry."

Levi looked up at that, pulling away from Erwin's arms. "Me too, brat. Me too."

Erwin opened his arms in invitation, and Eren took it, crossing the room and melting into the two of them like he had so many times before. 

With his face buried in Erwin's shoulder, he said what he'd been thinking. "It's not fair." His voice broke, and he didn't stop it. When the tears built up this time, he let them fall, hot and bitter as they streaked down his cheeks. Erwin's thumb wiped them away before his lips pressed against his cheeks. "It's not fair."

"No, it's not," Erwin agreed.

It took him a while to realize that the ragged, pained breaths he was hearing was the sound of Levi's sobs. He wasn't sure he'd ever heard it before.

They didn't move until the sun came up. 

 

There was no reason for it. That was what Erwin found the most difficult.

His life was full of reasoning, some botched, some perfectly sound, some twisted to fit his own needs, but it was how he’d been raised. Control and reason were the key to success, and as long as you could justify it, there was no reason to question it. You trusted your own judgment and acted perfectly in control, and with that came unquestioning loyalty and obedience from others. With that came power.

But there was no reason for this. Erwin didn’t have a reason to tell anyone. He didn’t have a way to control the situation. He didn’t know how, exactly, to make sense of it, and he certainly didn’t know how to fix it. 

She hadn’t given them a reason. She was under no obligation to, and he couldn’t make one of his own.

In a show of complete and utter lack of control, Erwin shoved his papers off the desk, thinking of a little girl somewhere with a seventeen-year-old child instead of with them. He thought of Levi’s sobs and Eren’s helpless anger, and for just a short while, in the privacy of his office with the door locked tight, he allowed himself to break. 

 

If Erwin and Levi were coping with it, they didn't show it.

Erwin threw himself into work, claiming that the merger that had already gone through needed his attention. Eren didn't think he saw him outside of the office anymore unless he was in the shower or bed, and even then he'd rolled over, his arms slack around them as if he couldn't really hold them. Levi kept quiet, going back and forth from work as if nothing had ever happened. He was still around, lounging on their couch and reading a book, wrapping an arm around Eren's shoulder as they watched TV, but he didn't say much. He didn't bring it up. When he was home, he spent most of his time cleaning.

Eren watched him clean a stain on the counter and then go over it a thousand times anyway, muttering to himself, his arm always moving.

They ate dinners together in silence. It was driving Eren crazy. 

He couldn't even remember the last time they'd really touched each other. It killed him that he was needy enough to think something like that, but he couldn't get it off his mind. Erwin had always been physically affectionate, brushing his arm as he passed, coming up behind him and wrapping muscled arms around his waist, pecking him on the cheek when he entered the room. He'd had no problem with sweeping Eren up in his arms and kissing him full on the lips in the middle of the kitchen, had seen nothing wrong with scooping him up and taking him off to bed in the middle of the day. 

He didn't do that anymore, and with Erwin distant, Levi followed suit. The bed they slept together in felt cold. The house was too quiet on the good days and dead silent on the bad. 

No one had opened the door to the nursery. No one even wanted to look at it. 

"I'm sick of it," he was saying on the phone, spread out on their bed, glaring at the laptop on the bedside table. Erwin had brought work to their bed before, but he'd only paid half attention to it, and he was easily distracted. Eren had tried the night before with a nibble to the ear. 

"Don't you want me?" he'd whispered, knowing Levi was watching him from the doorway to the bathroom.

"I'm tired, Eren," Erwin had said, though he'd swallowed hard when Eren's lips had dipped to his neck. His breathing hadn't been steady. "Tonight's not the night for this. Later, I promise." 

"But it's never the night for it anymore, and there is no later," Eren continued into the phone, eyes narrowed as he counted the stupid dots on the ceiling. Levi had freaked out about a stain up there once. They'd had to get it removed. It shouldn't hurt to think about things like that. "And you know what Levi did? He just stood there, and then he walked over to the bed and he told me I should go to sleep. Just like that. Isn't this where we're supposed to actually talk to each other? I don't know what to do, guys. I don't know what I'm supposed to do." 

There was shuffling on the other end of the phone, and the sound of Armin's sigh. "What do you feel, Eren? It's only been two weeks. It's still fresh."

"You know how I feel, Armin," he mumbled. 

"Do Levi and Erwin?"

The pointed words made him sigh. "They should."

"Have you put it into words?" It was Mikasa this time. She'd been so quiet that he'd almost forgotten he had them both on speaker phone. 

"What am I supposed to say, 'Kasa?" He closed his eyes, wedging the phone between his head and shoulder as he rolled over. "That it still feels like someone pulled my heart out of my chest? That I'm sad, and so angry that sometimes I feel like punching something until it breaks? Or, Jesus, someone. That I can't stop thinking about all the toys we bought her, or the bottles and the crib that Levi spent a whole month worrying about, and the diapers? That I keep thinking that maybe this is all some dumb joke, and we're going to show up to the hospital in a few months and we'll have a baby girl, or..." He took a deep, stuttering breath, feeling the moisture behind his eyes. "Or that part of me wishes I'd never brought this up in the first place, because it fucking hurts and I don't think I can do this again if this is what it's like?" 

"Yeah," someone said from the doorway, someone that was decidedly not Mikasa or Armin, "You should, kid."

"Gotta go," Eren mumbled, and then hit 'End Call' before either of them could protest. His eyes were on Levi as he stalked towards the bed. 

Levi leaned over him, and Eren stepped breathing for a second. Then he pulled back and shook his head, grabbing at Eren's arm and pulling him from the bed. "Let's go."

"Uh." Eren stumbled behind, confused and disoriented and a little overwhelmed as he was pulled down the stairs. "Where are we going?"

"To talk to Erwin." 

 

Erwin wasn't even home. Levi drove about thirty miles over the speed limit on the way to the office, and then marched right past the front desk once they actually got to the building where both he and Erwin worked. Survey, Inc. was a well-known company, and he wondered what they thought of Levi angrily flashing his badge as he dragged Eren to the elevator by the arm, apparently without the patience to wait for him to walk on his own. 

He decided he didn't care when he watched Levi actually punch the button that would take them to Erwin's floor, sinking back against the railing and waiting. 

Eren had only been there a handful of times, but Levi knew exactly where he was going. He was single-minded in his task, flat out ignoring a woman who greeted him. Eren gave her an apologetic smile as they passed, and noted that she didn't seem bothered. He didn't knock on the door to Erwin's office. Levi pulled the door open and walked right in.

There was no wasting time, not that Levi ever did. "Alright, Smith," he said, his voice eerily calm, but with that tone that meant business, "We're talking about this right fucking now."

Erwin raised one thick eyebrow from behind his desk, gesturing to the phone in his hand and against his ear. Levi rested a hand against his hip, and apparently that was all he needed to hastily end the call.

He was wearing his reading glasses. He only ever did that when he was stressed enough to admit that the fine print was difficult for him to read, otherwise he was perfectly capable. Eren took a seat on one of the plush chairs opposite Erwin's desk, positive they were going to be here for a while. 

Erwin set his glasses on the desk, and the severe look that had been there a moment before broke. His lips twitched at the corners, and then he was smiling. 

"What the fuck? What's that look for?" Levi’s voice was hitting that cold, deeper note it only did when he was at his angriest. Eren sat and watched as Levi walked right up to the desk, grey eyes hard and unyielding. 

Erwin chuckled, his head bowed against the desk. He was still holding the office phone in his hand. 

Levi slammed his hands against the desk. "Erwin!" 

It felt like every bit of tension that had been building up hit a bubbling point, because Erwin stopped laughing, and Levi's shoulders shook as he stared straight ahead. Eren had never been scared of Levi, not in the way other people were, but he felt his heart beat faster anyway. He brought his legs up to his chest, feeling younger and more helpless than he was as he watched the scene play out in front of him.

"I've been on the phone constantly for two weeks," Erwin said, breaking the silence. Eren watched Levi raise one thin eyebrow, and knew he was doing the same, his face twisted in confusion. "I've been told there's nothing anyone can do, and I've told each of them that it's a lie. I've told them our story and gotten the sickest of fake sympathies I've ever heard, and I've heard quite a few." Levi was silent, and so was Eren, because they both knew what he was talking about. "I have spent two weeks doing everything in my power to make this work, talking to people who have absolutely no clue what it is to go home to an empty, quiet house with a nursery they have no use for." 

Eren tucked his head into his knees. Levi was watching him now, and he knew it. A hand carded through his hair. 

"But I wasn't willing..." Erwin was hesitating, something he rarely did. His tone was firm when he spoke up again, authoritative, commanding. The same tone he'd used when he'd told Eren the first time that he was going to help him, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. "I'm not willing to let this be one of my regrets. I'm not willing to watch this family break apart before it gets a chance at starting. There are a lot of things I'm willing to give up on, and this isn't one of them." 

He was looking straight at Levi as he spoke up. Eren watched as they locked gazes, as they stared at each other from across the desk. "You," Erwin whispered, his voice finally breaking, "Have never been one of them." He turned his head toward Eren, shaking his head. "Neither of you have."

"What are you saying?" Levi was the one to ask it. Eren couldn't find his voice.

Erwin's lips quirked up. "That I'm just as selfish as I've always been." It was smooth and simple, and he shrugged his broad shoulders, his hands folded on the desk in front of them. "I've found us another mother who's willing to let us adopt." 

Eren wasn't sure he'd heard it right. "What?"

"She's three months along and certain she's not willing to keep the baby. She's interested in meeting with us. She lives a good while away, but if we can get there, it won't be a problem." Erwin's explanation was calm, but Eren could see his hands twitching against the desk. They were moving towards Levi. Levi took them in his own. "We can meet her next week." 

Eren didn't know whether he wanted to laugh or cry, so he settled for both, nearly knocking Erwin out of the chair with the force he used as he threw himself at him. Levi was there not long after.

"Let's thank our commander, Eren," he whispered close to Erwin's ear, using that tone, that name. "Right here." 

And they did. They didn't bother to lock the door before they were lips and teeth and gasps, muffled groans, hands on bodies, relief and need. Erwin had him right there, and Eren let him take, wanting nothing more. 

 

Levi glared up at the apartment building they'd parked in front of, his lip curling in disgust. "You're kidding me."

Erwin didn't look pleased, either, but he wrapped an arm around Levi's waist for support. "Don't be judgmental, Levi," he reprimanded, but anyone would be able to hear that he was doing it himself. He would never claim to be above hypocrisy, not anymore. "She has her reasons." 

Even Eren was frowning up at the place, and the brat still thought it was alright to leave his boxers lying around on the floor when he was done wearing them. Once, when he and Erwin had come back from a business trip, they'd found a collection of Coke cans lined up on the end table, stuck to the thing with sticky residue, and Levi had to scrub it for a good few hours before it looked clean to him again. 

"It's not that bad," he said, and Levi wondered who he was trying to kid. "I bet it's nicer on the inside."

It wasn't. If the boarded up windows and trash piled up on the sidewalk was bad, it was nothing compared to the mold growing on the walls, the stench of something rotting and long since dead, and the filthy off-white of the carpeting that Levi was positive had not been the originally intended color. He refused to be the one to knock on the door when they reached it, and he stood a few feet back, ignoring the way Eren stared at him over his shoulder, the concern there clear as day. He was about as subtle as a brick on his good days. 

He felt sick to his stomach, the mild panic tickling at the back of his throat and leaving that acrid, sewage-like smell in his nose and on his tongue, but he pushed it back down with everything he had. 

A tall blond answered the door, or at least opened it a crack, his broad shoulders blocking the view of the inside of the apartment. "Can I help you?" He looked confused, but not unfriendly.

"We're here to talk to Annie Leonhardt?" Erwin answered, ever the diplomat. His expression was sculpted and deliberate again, and he was nothing but completely cool and composed. "I heard she lived here. Is she in?" 

The man glanced into the apartment before looking back at them, shrugging. "Yeah, she's here. Hang on, let me get her." 

They waited in silence and listened to the voices inside the apartment, completely audible through the thin walls. When the door opened again, there was a blonde woman standing behind it, her hair up in a messy bun, her face completely unreadable. "Hi," she greeted, but said nothing else.

"Uh, hi," Eren said back, rubbing at the back of his neck and grinning in that nervous way he did as he swayed on his feet, his chest stuck out in a show of bravado he likely didn't feel at the moment. Sometimes Levi forgot how young he still was, but he was reminded at times like this. "Are you..."

The woman nodded and opened the door for them to step in, gesturing towards the couch in the center of the room. 

It was a faded brown color, with a suspicious looking yellow stain on the back. There was a rip where some of the stuffing was escaping, falling out onto the floor where no one had bothered to pick it up. Erwin took a seat first, shoulders tense and visibly stiff and hands folded in his lap but his face still showing no outward signs of discomfort, and Eren gingerly followed after him.

Levi stood to the side, his arms folded across his chest.

Annie sat in the chair across from the couch, her legs crossed and her eyes straight ahead. She was thin, lithe, but clearly muscled under her baggy sweatshirt and jeans. Levi's eyes found themselves wandering to her stomach, but there was nothing there to see. She wasn't showing yet, or if she was, he didn't know how he was supposed to tell. 

They sat in awkward silence for what could have been five minutes or a fucking eternity. Levi watched Eren squirm on the couch to avoid noticing the various spills on the carpet. 

"You want my baby," Annie finally said, breaking the quiet.

Eren took in a deep breath. Erwin set a hand against his shoulder as he nodded, taking the reigns as usual. "Yes. We do." 

Levi could have been imagining it, but he thought he saw Annie's lips twitch for a moment as she leaned back in her seat, nodding. "Okay." 

Eren was the one to call that one out, Erwin apparently thrown off enough to not be faster. "Okay?"

Annie nodded again. "Okay. I want you to have it."

The blond man from before walked back into the room, standing large and imposing behind Annie's chair as he watched the three of them. Levi noticed how his arm stretched around her shoulders as he watched them, something instinctive in the way he did, something basic and protective. He felt his blood run cold. 

"Is this your boyfriend?" Erwin asked, tone mild. 

"I think he's the father," Annie returned, equally as cool. Levi noted she hadn't actually answered the question. Eren looked like he might be about to say something, but she was speaking again. "I don't drink. I don't do drugs. I smoke, but I'm quitting." She listed it off like she was reading off someone's grocery list, her back perfectly straight against her chair as she swept a stray hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. 

No one said anything for a full minute. Levi took it upon himself to break the silence, something he was usually against on principle. "Good for you," he muttered, shrugging when Erwin's head turned towards him. "Quitting's a bitch."

He definitely didn't imagine the way her lips quirked now, just the ghost of a smirk. "It is," she agreed. 

Erwin shifted in his seat, and Levi knew what was coming. The green wallpaper was peeling and disgusting, but he focused on it rather than the hardened look he knew would be on the man's face. "Annie," he said, slowly, as if he needed every bit of her attention, "We've been through this before. Another mother agreed to allow us to adopt, and then changed her mind. I can't watch that happen again. If we're going to continue this, you need to be absolutely positive that you're comfortable with us adopting your baby." 

Levi held his breath, certain he'd never heard silence that fucking deafening in his entire life. 

"I'm sure." It was Annie's voice, smaller, but just as calm as before, just as even. "I don't want it, and you do. So it's yours." 

The guy behind her made a noise of protest, but when Levi dared to look, she wasn't even bothering to look over her shoulder. It took him a second to realize she was looking straight at him, her eyes narrowed in, her chin raised. "You'll take care of it," she said, simply. 

Erwin gave her their numbers and she agreed to call them if something new came up, if something went wrong, or just if she needed help with something. Levi found her on the way out and slipped a rolled up twenty into her hands, the only cash he had in his pockets. 

"I don't need this," she insisted, crossing her arms over her chest. She glared at him, all defiance and survival. Levi wondered idly how long she'd been doing it, and whether or not he was supposed to feel like he was staring a ghost in the face. 

"It's not for you," he said back. 

She pocketed it. 

"Wow," Eren breathed on the way back, piping up from the backseat. 

Levi shrugged. "It's a fucked up world, brat. We do what we've got to do."

Erwin's hands tightened on the steering wheel. The rest of the drive was spent in silence, Levi's gaze out the window. 

 

Annie texted Levi a month later to tell him about a doctor's appointment. Most of it was routine, but she was four months along and they'd told her it was likely they would be able to tell the sex of the baby. Even Erwin was nervous about it, and if it was showing for him, then the rest of them were fucked.

He hadn't expected it to be like it was, though.

The doctor gave them more than a couple looks when they all piled in the room together and crowded around the girl spread out on the examination chair, but she didn't say anything about it as she prepped Annie. Erwin had a large hand on the girl's shoulders, and Levi wondered if it was more for her or for him. 

Levi watched the image of their baby as it appeared on the screen, the tiny, barely developed body curled in the womb, but Eren caught his eye after a moment or two. The complete and utter awe that was shining in his eyes was unlike anything he'd ever seen, and he'd seen the boy they'd first met with stars in his eyes and sunshine in his smile, kissing his tan skin and burning in every determined, stupidly passionate move he made. 

"That's the baby?" he asked, and he sounded winded, like he'd run some kind of marathon before showing up there. "Really?"

"Really," the doctor answered, and any reservations she had were clearly replaced with a fond kind of amusement. Levi snorted, because the brat could do that to anyone. He'd done it with two bitter old men, and he'd do it for strangers. He'd do it for their child. "See this?" 

She was pointing to something, and Levi squinted to see what it was. He realized a moment later that the point was that there wasn't a whole lot to see.

"It looks like you've got a girl," she told Annie, but Annie was looking at them. 

"Baby girl," Eren breathed, and Levi heard the tears in his words before he saw them in his eyes.

"Baby girl," Erwin agreed, wrapping his arms around Eren's shoulders.

Levi squeezed himself between his boys and looked up at their girl, and he would never admit it, but the choked sound that came from his throat was his. His lips were pulled up into a smile he’d forgotten how to make. 

"You can keep the pictures," Annie told them. 

Eren hung them up on the fridge as soon as they got home. 

 

Krista came over one day when both Erwin and Levi were working to tell him about her pregnancy.

"I found out earlier, but I didn't..." She bit on her lip, blonde hair falling in her face when she ducked her head. "I didn't want to tell you so soon after. It didn't seem right."

Eren smiled easily, shrugging one shoulder. "Well, it doesn't matter now, right?" He pulled her into his arms, careful not to squeeze too tight. "You're going to be a great mom."

Krista was smiling when she pulled away, but she giggled and shook her head, and Eren thought he saw her eyes flash with irritation, her full lips pursed. "You don't need to be that gentle, you know. Ymir will barely touch me. It's ridiculous. I'm not going to break!" 

The names list had been getting even more attention lately. There were names crossed off and then written again, names with about a thousand question marks to the side, names underlined and names with neatly written comments, mostly thanks to Levi. He showed it to her and she chewed on the inside of her cheek, a grin curving up her lips.

"Historia isn't such a bad name, now that I think about it. It's pretentious as hell, but I got to choose whether I wanted to be called that. As long as you have a nickname ready..." She shrugged, humming. "I'm sure any child of yours is going to make her own decisions. I don't think you'll be able to stop her. The point is, I wouldn't worry too much."

"I just don't like the idea of her being stuck with something too formal if she's not like that." Eren scratched at his nose, trying not to bring up the obvious. "If you like your full name, why don't you..." He hesitated, then grinned sheepishly, going for it. "Why don't you go by it?" 

Krista paused, her hair falling into her face and her shoulders shaking as she laughed. "It's not so bad when Ymir calls me that. Maybe it's a bad example," she admitted, and they both laughed. "At least I got a middle name I could change. Christine isn't so bad! I even got to switch up a letter or two!"

It was probably on his mind when he circled it and brought it up later. It had been moved to the middle name list, which was currently full of not-quite-but-almosts. Erwin had gently suggested giving her a namesake, perhaps Carla, but Eren had been vehemently against it and surprised them both in the process. 

"Look, it's just asking for trouble. She'll feel like she has to live up someone, and that's not fair." Erwin's eyes followed him as he shrugged. "There are enough Eren Grisha Jaegers in the world."

They'd taken care of him that night, wrapped him between the two of them, but that wasn't the point. 

"So you're saying we should take our names and make them pretentious as fuck so Erwin's appeased?" Levi was asking, deadpan as usual, and Eren only hesitated a moment before nodding. "Not bad." 

They went down the list. 

"Marilyn?" Eren suggested, hesitating even as he said it. He couldn't help picturing a little girl with a mole, her skirt blowing up as she stood under some sort of vent and winked. "Like, a long version of Mary? We could call her Mary." 

"Fuck no."

Erwin nodded in agreement, bent over the list with his reading glasses. He'd taken to wearing them more often, and neither he nor Levi were complaining about it. "Emma is still on the list. I hadn't considered the name Emmaline." 

Eren made a face, shaking his head. "I don't like it. Madeline, maybe, but not Emmaline."

"I don't like the name Maddy, if that's where you're going, brat. It's trashy." 

Eren sighed, slumping over on his elbows and looking down the list again, all three of them straining to be able to see it. He nudged into Erwin's side, and Erwin chuckled as he nudged back.

"Gwen," Erwin said, running his index finger over the name. "That's a name we've all agreed we could live with. It's classy, but cute. We could call her Gwendolyn." 

Levi's mouth opened to protest, but nothing actually came out. He rose an eyebrow instead, bending over the list and running his thumb where Erwin's finger was. Eren watched them do some sort of dance on the paper before they gave up and linked fingers. 

"Gwendolyn," he tried, testing the name out on his tongue. "Gwen." 

"Gwendolyn," Levi repeated, the name coming out slower on his tongue, as if he wasn't sure how to form the word properly. 

"Gwendolyn," Erwin said, and then whispered it against both of their lips. "Gwen." 

They decided on Gwendolyn Christine a week later. On the board where Levi liked to write reminders, Eren wrote, 'GWENDOLYN CHRISTINE SMITH.' They'd decided it would be best to only use one of their surnames, and with Erwin the one doing the bulk of the negotiating (and making the bulk of the money), it seemed like fair game. "She won't have to spell it, anyway," Eren had pointed out, his head poking into the living room while the two of them discussed. "J-A-E. G-E-R. Jaeger. The 'J' makes a 'Y' sound. She'll probably be happier." 

He didn't miss Erwin and Levi trying not to smile every time they passed the white board. Eren pinned the latest sonogram to it. 

 

Hanji came over more often than not in the months leading up to the birth, apparently completely fascinated by the idea of a baby being born. Eren wondered how it still interested them when they were a doctor and a Biology professor, but decided he still couldn't figure out a whole lot about Hanji and it wasn't worth the effort. 

Every time they came, they brought something different, something that they claimed was going to help with the baby's development. "Little Gwen will love this!" she'd squealed on one particular visit, thrusting a different kind of formula in his hands. "It's supposed to help her grow nice and strong with all the nutrients she needs! Oh, I bet she'll be just like her daddies!" 

"Like all three of us?" Levi questioned from the couch, tone dry as he crossed one leg over the other. "That's a whole lot of personality."

"We wouldn't expect anything less," Erwin commented, across the room on the reclining chair with his laptop. He was working, but Eren knew he was listening because he added to the conversation every now and then. 

"I bet you have a plan," Hanji teased, grinning wickedly. "You're always three steps ahead."

Erwin looked up from the screen he'd been staring at, lowering his glasses. His thick eyebrows were pulled together, and he shook his head. "Not this time." 

"Not even a little?" Eren asked, grinning, too. He settled on the arm of Erwin's chair, sighing in pleasure when the older man wrapped his arms around his waist and stroked a hand down his hip. "You've always got a plan. It's your thing. You're, like, Commander Plan." 

"No plan," Erwin said, and there wasn't a single bit of it that wasn't laced with complete honesty. 

Levi arched an eyebrow. "And you're okay with that?" 

It took Erwin a bit to answer. From the look on Levi's face, Eren knew he was thinking the same thing. Erwin was the one they counted on to be steps ahead of everyone else, and even if he didn't catch them up all the time, he always managed to get them to where they needed to be. He'd been the one to make sense of things when they'd all somehow fallen together. The one to talk out the terms of their relationship, the one to set the pace, the one who kept Levi and him in steady orbit when they threatened to crash. He'd found them their first apartment together, and then their house. He'd pulled both him and Levi from their lowest, dragged them up and put them together and somehow made a whole. He'd prodded them along when they had no idea which direction they were supposed to be going in. Somehow, it always ended up being in each other's direction, but they'd both stopped caring a long time ago. 

But now he nodded. "I'm okay with it," he said, and went back to typing out whatever it was he was working on. "More than okay with it." 

Eren couldn't decide if it was terrifying or reassuring, so he went with a little bit of both and tried to find a place in the kitchen for Hanji's formula. 

 

“Hey,” Eren found himself saying sometime in late May, “What is she even going to call all of us?”

Levi was dusting near the TV, and his entire body stilled as he froze. “Shit.” 

Eren threw his head back and laughed at the look on Levi’s face. “I mean, she can’t call all of us dad, right? I was thinking…” He hesitated, feeling the heat spreading up to his ears. “I was thinking I could be Daddy?” 

Levi smirked. “Alright, Daddy.” 

Eren’s face was bright red when he buried it in the nearest pillow, which happened to be the ugly heart-shaped one Erwin’s mother had bought them for a housewarming gift. Levi insisted that he was just fine with being called ‘Dad’, simple but not too formal. 

When Erwin came home, late for dinner but in time for the cobbler Levi had gotten in the mood to make, Levi greeted him with a, “Welcome home, Papa.” 

Erwin stopped in his tracks, his expression controlled as he took a seat at the table. “Well, that’s a new one. You should have warned me you were in that kind of mood, Levi.” 

 

He wasn't sure exactly how it happened, but Annie ended up living with them for the entire month before her due date. It probably wasn't conventional, but none of what they were doing was, and Eren didn't mind having another person around during the day. Something had happened with Reiner and Bert, her not-boyfriends, specifically with the taller one, who he was pretty sure was Bert, but none of them wanted to ask what it was. She swore she'd be able to go back after the baby was born, but that for whatever reason, it was better for her to be away for a while. Eren had shrugged it off and accepted it. 

It was early August and her belly looked too swollen even for her maternity shirts. He found her outside on the porch, rubbing at her stomach and staring off into the distance. 

She huffed. "It's hot." 

He didn't think it sounded like a complaint, really. If anything, it was a statement of fact, but he nodded, watching the fireflies dart around in the last bit of evening light. "Yeah. It's pretty killer." 

He didn't think she would say anything else, but she did. "Are you ready?"

Eren took a deep breath and let it out. Right now, Erwin was probably in his office, working as much as he possibly could in advance so he could spend as much time as possible with the baby. Levi was cleaning up the dishes from dinner, and then he'd probably make his rounds to the nursery, dusting everything obsessively. They'd had to drag him out a few times.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Are you?" 

Annie stared straight ahead. "I don't know." 

 

Annie's due date came and went. She grew more agitated as the month dragged on with no sign of the baby making its appearance. With both Levi and her stomping around the house and grunting, groaning, and, for lack of a better word, bitching, Erwin wasn't entirely sure how they all managing to stay sane. 

"Fucking house," Levi muttered from the top of the stairs. "Erwin! Where's the disinfectant? Have you seen it?" 

Erwin rubbed at his temples. “Last I checked, Eren had hidden it under the sink.”

“Little shit.” 

 

Erwin was in a meeting when he got the call. He was still in a meeting when he got the text. 

He’d been in the middle of an important discussion but glanced down at his phone anyway, knowing instinctively that he needed to. It was from Eren. There were about ten exclamation points, and all of them were proceeding the announcement that Annie’s water had broke and they were headed to the hospital. He hadn’t ever left a meeting faster than that. Mike patted his back on the way out, laughing at whatever expression was on his face as he looked over his shoulder. He could only imagine. 

He forgot his phone at the office and didn’t even consider going back for it. He couldn’t even remember the last time he hadn’t had it practically attached to his person, on at all times. He’d once answered it during a particularly heavy discussion with Levi and Eren. They’d resented him for it, but he couldn’t say he regretted it. 

Now, it was the last thing on his mind, something he couldn’t fathom. 

Levi and Eren were in the waiting room when he rushed into the hospital, and Eren grinned, likely noticing how out of breath he was, how tussled, how his tie was hanging off of his neck. He and Levi were sitting close to each other, their shoulders and thighs touching. Levi patted the space next to him, and Erwin watched as Eren’s knee bounced, his body thrumming with nervous energy. He could tell it was making Levi jittery, too, and he offered his shoulder, calmed himself when the other man rested his head against it. 

Reiner and Bertholdt were sitting across from them. Reiner was glaring at the floor, his hands clenched into fists in his lap. Erwin could see that Bertholdt was sweating from where he was sitting, the perspiration gleaming in the florescent lighting of the place. 

“She just went into labor,” Levi informed him, his voice muffled by Erwin’s shoulder. “Could be a few hours. Could be ten.”

Eren leaned his head against the top of Levi’s, grunting. “So there’s nothing to do but wait.”

“So there’s nothing to do but wait,” Erwin repeated, and held them tight. 

 

Hanji was the first one to show up, bringing with her bags of greasy fast food that Levi scoffed at but scarfed down anyway, apparently starving enough to overlook it. Armin and Mikasa were next and last, and Armin spent the first ten minutes apologizing for not being there sooner, Mikasa mirroring his guilty expression with a severe one of her own. Armin hadn’t had time to change out of his pajama pants, apparently, even though it was the middle of the day, and it was the embarrassing pair that sported the baby ducks. Eren had been too nervous to laugh, hugging Mikasa tight and letting Armin wrap his arms around from the other side while Hanji, Levi, and Erwin talked in quiet tones at the other side of the room. 

They’d brought food, too. Eren offered it to Bert and Reiner. 

“You should be in there with her,” he said, looking the both of them over.

“She doesn’t want us in there,” Reiner grunted, and Bert’s head was bowed next to him in obvious agreement.

Eren shrugged. “She’s in labor and she’s probably scared shitless. She needs you guys.” 

They went in after that. 

Three hours had passed before Eren couldn’t contain his restless energy and Levi snapped at him to find something to do with himself, the energy obviously getting to him, too. Armin had brought cards. They sat cross-legged in the middle of the waiting room floor and played games of War, because Eren couldn’t get his brain to focus on anything more complicated and Armin seemed to know it. 

Armin and Mikasa won every game. Levi took a brief nap in a chair, his head angled in a way that Eren was positive was going to leave him sore when he woke up. Erwin stared straight at the doors that led to the labor and delivery ward. 

Reiner had gone in and out four times when he stood in front of them, running a hand through his short hair. “She says you guys can come in if you want. Probably one at a time, though. She’s having a rough time.” 

They took it in shifts. Erwin wiped at her forehead with a cold cloth, Eren held her hand and encouraged her (to which she usually grunted and cursed at him) and Levi reminded her that she’d been through worse shit, and she was going to get through this whether she liked it or not. 

“It’s your baby,” she got out through clenched teeth, her hands automatically flying to her stomach with the next wave of discomfort. “You should – ahh, fuck…” 

“Yeah, well,” Levi muttered, giving up and grabbing for her hand, aware that Erwin was watching from the doorway, “Unfortunately I’ve got a dick and you’ve got a baby in you right now, so we’re both shit out of luck. Hang in there.” 

Annie was in labor for twelve and a half hours. 

 

None of them were in the room when it actually happened. Annie had ordered them out the moment she’d started to push, and she was convincing even when she was screaming in pain. By the time the nurse came to get them, aware of the situation, Annie was upright in the bed, the baby in her arms. 

She looked utterly exhausted, but that wasn’t where Levi’s attention went as he stepped into the room. His eyes were immediately caught on the tiny bundle in her arms, which looked more like swaddled blankets than it did a living, breathing human being. The baby was completely still, and for a brief moment where his heart clenched and his throat felt like it closed, Levi wondered if there was something wrong with her.

And then she parted her lips and wailed, loud and piercing, completely unhappy with the entire predicament. 

Annie shifted the baby in her arms and she settled down, but she was staring at them instead. “Are you going to come into the room and see her?” 

Erwin and Eren, who had previously been in some sort of trance, both stepped forward at once, practically tripping over each other in the process. Erwin’s longer legs got him there first, and Levi could see his fingers gripping tightly to his slacks before he brought them up and held them out, waiting for Annie to place the baby in his arms.

Levi was still standing near the door, but he heard the breath Erwin took from there. Eren was huddled over his shoulder, blocking his view. 

“Hey there, baby girl,” he rasped, and Levi wondered if he’d ever heard him sound so wrecked even all they’d done together. “Hello, Gwen. I’m your Papa.” He paused, and Levi could see him staring into the baby’s face. “You’re beautiful.” 

“Gorgeous,” Eren agreed, every bit of that reverence in his tone, as if he’d just seen everything change for him, as if the world had spun just to lead him to this particular moment. “Hi, Gwen. I’m your Daddy. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.”

And then two of the strongest men he knew turned to face him, the baby now in Eren’s arms, their eyes and bodies searching for him. They were turned completely inside out, nothing but vulnerability there.

There were tears caught in Erwin’s eyes. “Levi,” was all he said, the word broken but insistent.

Levi didn’t know what to think when he stepped forward and looked down at her. She was barely moving in Eren’s arms, her eyes closed tight, her face scrunched up and red, her body wrinkly and too small for the blankets they’d wrapped her in. He wasn’t sure if beautiful or gorgeous were the words to describe her, not when her head was misshapen and her body still red and just freshly cleaned of the blood that he knew had been clinging to her. He tried to protest when Eren pressed forward to set the baby in his arms, certain that he couldn’t hold something so tiny, so innocent, without breaking her completely, without tainting her in some way. He was going to break her. 

“Eren, don’t –”

And then Gwen’s eyes opened and she gripped at his finger, wrapping the little digits around one of his. 

Levi forgot how to breathe.

“See that?” Erwin whispered, leaning over the two of them now, his arms around both of his boys as Levi held their girl. “He just fell in love.”

Eren grinned, but it was watery. There were tear tracks on his cheeks when Levi could bring himself to look up from the baby in his arms. “Yeah.”

 

When Gwen was cleared to go home, they drove Annie back with them. She packed up her stuff and called Reiner, insisting that she didn’t need to be driven anywhere by them. Eren was on the couch with Gwen when she came down the stairs, feeding her. He had no free hands, but he offered her a smile. Erwin was next to him on the couch, but his eyes never left the baby in Eren’s arms. 

Levi was the one to walk her to the door, taking her heavier bags to Reiner’s car and throwing them in the trunk. “Oi,” he called out before she could get in the car, and she turned around to look at him, her body suddenly too small for her. “You don’t need to be a stranger,” he reminded her.

Annie’s lips quirked up, and she turned her head away as she got in the car. “I won’t.” 

Levi nodded as the car drove away, walking back into the house where his family was waiting for him. 

 

The first week was a whirlwind that none of them would claim to remember in full.

Erwin’s parents came by for a few days, but Eren thought they were underfoot more than anything else. Erwin spent more time humoring them than they actually spent helping, and by the end of the three days, Erwin’s frustration was palpable and that was never something good. 

They’d learned how to change diapers in the hospital, and all of them had tried it save for Levi, who absolutely refused. Erwin’s mother insisted she knew some sort of trick, but when Eren tried it, it made a mess more than it helped with anything. 

Levi hadn’t taken it well. By the time he’d finished scrubbing at the floor, his knuckles had been red and raw and near bleeding. 

“It’s going to be messy, Levi,” Erwin had reminded him, his hands rubbing soothing circles onto his back. “There’s nothing we can do about that.”

Levi had huffed out a breath and leaned into the both of them. Eren held him tight until the desperate look was gone from his eyes. 

It was probably the lack of sleep and the commotion that made them testy, snapping at each other and getting on each other’s nerves. Suddenly Eren was chewing too loud and Erwin snored and had too much stubble. Levi was being neurotic and unreasonable. Gwen couldn’t sleep through the night yet, and she tended to cry when she was put down, whether it was the lack of touch or attention or something else. People were in and out of the house and Levi complained that they were bringing in germs and filth. 

Armin’s eyes had almost bulged out of his head when Levi had shouted at him for not taking his shoes off fast enough. “For God’s sake, Arlert,” he’d growled. “Who taught you manners?” 

Eren didn’t think there was any other way to remember it besides in changings and feedings and the quiet moments in between where Gwen managed to settle down and sleep, whether it was in her crib or in one of their arms. Her noises were all high-pitched and wailing, and he’d be lying if he said they were always music to his ears. 

They still ended it together, slumped exhausted and limp on the couch, the baby in Levi’s arms as she sucked at the bottle he was feeding her. He didn’t know what time it was, but it was all relative as of late anyway. 

“Hungry little thing,” Levi commented, and Eren grinned as whatever else he might have said was smothered by the yawn that pulled apart his jaws. 

“She’s cute when she’s not screaming her lungs out,” Eren said, and Erwin hummed, obviously agreeing. “At least we know those work.”

“Like a charm,” Erwin noted, but his touch was nothing but affectionate as he stroked a hand over her rounded cheek, his lips curling when she turned her head toward him. Her eyes opened and she stared at the bottle she was sucking on.

“You know what doesn’t work? Her hair.” Levi shook his head and smirked as he ran a finger over her smooth head, careful to keep it supported. “She’s balder than I expected. I didn’t think they came like that.” 

Eren snickered and Erwin snorted out a laugh, too, until they were all laughing quietly, careful not to disturb the little girl they had balanced between them.

 

Levi stayed home for the entire first month.

Erwin took off as often as he could, piling up vacation time he'd never used, using every bit of authority he had, but he still couldn't manage nearly as much time off as he wanted. That first week had been a miracle in itself. Levi was certain their girl was already past spoiled with the way he picked her up the instant he got home and refused to let her go, cradling her against his chest and insisting on feeding, changing, and rocking her. From the moment he got home to the moment he went to bed he lavished her with every bit of attention he had. Levi wasn't even sure he was aware he and Eren were in the room anymore.

It was more endearing than it was annoying, especially when the two of them teamed up. Erwin would sit on the couch with Gwen cradled snugly in his arms, and Eren would lean over and coo at her. "I love you, princess," he'd say over and over, and Erwin would gently bounce her, rocking her back and forth, careful not to jostle her head too much. "Daddy loves you."

"Papa, too," Erwin would say, and then they'd start all over again. 

The nights were more difficult. Levi had read and heard enough about schedules and teaching babies to sleep through the night, but he was almost positive that Gwen was particularly stubborn, something she might already be picking up from her fathers. They couldn't put her down for more than ten minutes before she was crying again, her wailing louder and more insistent with each passing second. Most of the time she wasn't hungry, and she didn't need changing, either. 

She just didn't want to sleep. 

He woke up to Eren kicking him in the back of the legs, something that wasn't all that unusual as of late. "Your turn," he mumbled into the back of his neck, and then rolled back over, trying to sleep through Gwen's wailing. Levi grunted, giving himself a moment to wake up again before he pushed himself to his feet.

The walk to the nursery always seemed unnecessarily long when he was guided by Gwen's crying, but what he found there wasn't anything particularly new. Gwen's arms and legs were wiggling around in the crib as she screamed for attention, her little face red when he bent down to pick her up and tuck her into his arm. It had gotten easier to hold her like this, now that he was sure he wasn't about to crush her or break her. She quieted almost immediately after she was in his arms and he was rocking her, and Levi snorted.

"You're just like your Daddy, you know that? Stubborn as shit." There was still a small, tired smile on his lips as he looked down at her. She blinked up at him, her blue eyes crossed. "I know you're tired, but you just won't sleep, will you?" He held her tight on his way to the rocking chair, settling in and making sure he had her head supported. "I used to not be able to sleep, too, before I met your idiot fathers. They helped with that. That and sleeping pills, but I'll tell you about that when you're older." Levi smirked at himself, wondering what he was doing as the little girl in his arms squirmed, quiet now that she was being given the attention she wanted. "Whatever it is that's got you awake, you don't need to worry about it. You've got enough people protecting you, trust me. None of us will let anything hurt you." 

Gwen only stared up at him, gripping tightly at his finger when Levi brought his hand to straighten out her rumpled onesie (Hanji must have bought it, he thought, because it proudly read ‘Science Baby!’). Levi felt something inside of him twist, something aflutter in his stomach. 

"I never thought I'd really be holding you." His voice got caught in his throat, still a whisper, still hoarse with sleep, but no one was around to hear it besides her, and he didn't mind her knowing, even if she could understand it. "I still don't know if I'm doing it right, or if I'm even cut out for this. You can't even pick your head up yet and part of me's worried I'm doing everything wrong, but I guess that's the point. I'm never going to know what I'm doing with you, but I'm pretty sure I'll die trying, kid." Gwen blinked up at him, her lips parting as her tiny feet moved in his arms, and then her eyes were closing as she nestled into his elbow. Levi snickered. "And let me tell you, Gwendolyn Christine Smith, there's not a single baby girl in the world who's loved more than you. You can try to find one, but you'll come up empty every single time. I can promise you that much." 

Gwen stopped wiggling. Her eyes didn't open again, and Levi realized her breathing had evened out, her body still. "Tired now, huh? Figures." 

Erwin and Eren found him like that when he didn't come back to the bedroom, passed out on the rocking chair with the baby in his arms. Erwin's smile was warm as he crossed the room, carefully taking Gwen and setting her back in her crib. "Cute," he murmured. 

"Levi or the baby?" Eren asked in a whisper.

"Both."

Eren grinned, nodding. "Yeah. I agree." 

 

Levi going back to work was less eventful than he’d thought it would be. 

Eren agreed that staying home full-time would be for the best and that he had no problem with it, and Erwin had admitted that the office was out of control without him. Eren sent him and Erwin text messages throughout the day, picture messages of Gwen in her crib, newly changed, sucking from her bottle as someone else fed her, whether it be Armin or Mikasa or Hanji, all who made frequent visits whenever they could manage. Gwen still wasn’t sleeping through the night, but she managed to stay down longer now, which meant her naps were more consistent during the day. 

When they passed each other in the halls, Erwin and Levi shared stories between business talk, determined to know everything. 

Levi still had new bags under his eyes, but he didn’t really blame the kid for it. He wasn’t about to admit that it was because Erwin was right and she’d had him wrapped around his finger the second she’d grabbed his in the hospital.

It was the frantic call he got from Eren in the middle of the week that nearly gave him a heart attack.

He’d barely picked up the call before Eren was stumbling at the other end, his words all running together. It didn’t even matter if he was intelligible or not, though, because the screeching in the background was loud enough to blow Levi’s eardrums out. “Levi, shit, Levi, you have to come home, you have to come home right now, okay?” Eren was babbling, and he sounded hysteric. Levi wondered how long he’d been like that, his pulse racing. “Like, get in the car and come home, please. Something’s wrong with her, I swear something’s wrong with her, and I don’t know what to do! She keeps screaming, she won’t stop crying, she just won’t, and I keep trying to feed her but she won’t eat, Levi, she won’t eat…” 

Levi didn’t wait to hear the rest of it, ending the call and leaving the office without telling anyone. He ran a red light on the way home.

When he got through the door, though, Eren was on the couch, Gwen in his arms. She was quiet as a mouse, curled up against his body, and the finger Eren held up to his lips when he stepped closer told him that she was sleeping.

“I got her to eat,” he whispered, unnecessarily. 

“I can see that.” He held his arms out, waiting for Eren to place her in them as he sat down on the couch. “Go take a nap, brat.” 

 

“What if I can’t do it?” Eren asked later, his back against Erwin’s chest. Levi was changing at the other side of the room, throwing his shirt into the hamper and scowling at the laundry they were behind on. “I know I’m always saying age has nothing to do with it, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t, but I am young, you know? I don’t even know what I’m doing, and I’m home with her alone pretty much all day, and what if…” Eren’s eyes were closed when Levi turned around, his forehead wrinkled in his distress. “What if I really do something wrong, and I screw up, and I break her for real?”

“You won’t,” Erwin assured. 

“But how do you know?”

“Because I’m sure there are ways to break her, but you’re not ever going to go there, you shitty brat,” Levi answered instead, and Erwin sent him a glance, more amused than irritated. “Anyone with eyes and a brain can tell you love her, and if you don’t think that’s enough, then we’re all going to end up screwed because I don’t know any more than you do and that’s what I’m riding on. Love is all I have to go on.”

Eren seemed to process that slowly, but when he raised his head to look up at him and catch his gaze, those green eyes weren’t bright with what he was expecting to see. The uncertainty was washed away by something else, something strongly affectionate and incredibly warm. “You love her?” 

Levi snorted. “That’s what you chose to focus on? You already knew that.” 

Erwin smirked, though, prodding Eren forward to crawl to the other side of the bed. The brat clung to him immediately, eager lips on his jaw and neck. “You don’t use the ‘L’ word often, Levi. You’d think it was a dirty word.” 

Levi rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to let out some kind of retort, but the crying from the nursery cut him off. Eren looked conflicted, somewhere between concerned and disappointed, and he couldn’t help smirking, grabbing the boy’s chin and pulling him up for a quick kiss.

“I love all of you idiots,” he admitted. “No go change our daughter before she has a fit, Erwin. Your turn.” 

 

Erwin Smith, for all of his talents, had a God awful singing voice.

Levi didn’t know how it was possible when he could make it melted butter or thick like syrup at the drop of a dime, but he’d always been tone deaf. He didn’t sing in the shower or hum like Eren did as he went about whatever he was doing, but on the few occasions he had heard the older man sing, he’d immediately regretted it. One instance of drunk karaoke was enough to turn him off for life.

There was something different about the way he was singing to their daughter, though, his voice low and quiet as he rocked her.

“Shh, sweetheart,” he whispered when he’d finished, keeping her nestled in the crook of his elbow. “Papa’s got you, and he’s never going to let you go. No one is ever going to hurt you. He’ll make sure of that. Sleep.”

Levi backed out of the room, figuring everything was taken care of. 

 

Erwin came home to the three of them in the living room, the wide-eyed look on Levi’s face enough to make him alarmed.

“What’s going on?” he demanded, and he took the space between him in heavy strides, not even bothering to kick off his shoes. He got his answer when Gwen looked up at him from where she’d been settled on her stomach, her neck just strong enough to stay up for a few moments now before she was back to where she started. 

Her lips were curled up into a smile, as if she were reacting to the sound of his voice. Drool dribbled down her chin. 

“I thought she was passing gas or something,” Levi muttered, the amazement there still shocking him. “But she wasn’t.”

They all watched their little princess for what seemed like hours after that, setting her on her back and letting her wiggle and kick as she smiled up at them and gurgled. 

 

The pediatrician had assured them that at three months, Gwen would start to develop a normal sleeping pattern and realize that sleeping during the nighttime was normal.

Levi called bullshit. 

Gwen was napping and eating on a schedule, but the moment they put her down in the crib at night she seemed intent on wailing until she got their attention. When he’d talked to the bastard about it, he’d claimed that the best way to handle it was to ignore her for a short while, that the crying would eventually die down and she would fall back to sleep on her own.

That was definitely bullshit. Gwen just got louder as she went, crying becoming wails and wails becoming blood-curdling screeches. 

He groaned, still gazing at the inside of his eyelids as he nudged the body in front of him. “Whose turn?” he asked, voice weighed down with sleep.

“Yours,” Erwin’s voice rumbled near his ear, and he patted at his hip. “I took last shift.”

“I thought it was the brat’s turn,” Levi grumbled, nudging at said brat with his foot. 

“Your feet are cold,” Eren said, an obvious distraction. It didn’t work. 

“And you’re on baby duty. Get up.” 

Eren did, but not without rubbing his equally cold feet all over Levi’s bare legs until he grunted with disgust and pushed him out of the bed. 

 

Erwin realized as they were all sitting in the living room again that there was nothing strange about it anymore. 

He had a stack of documents on his lap that he was meant to be looking over, but his eyes were on Eren and Levi and their daughter in between them. She was rolled over on her stomach and had managed to hold her head up, swiping at the rainbow-colored toy Levi was dangling near her face, surprise lighting up her eyes each time it made noises, rice or something similar rolling around on the inside of it. She squealed and giggled every time Levi took it away from her and reached for it again, her hands grasping, opening and closing and searching, as she managed little babbling noises. 

Eren always answered her. “I know, princess, I know! Dad’s so silly, isn’t he?” 

“Your Daddy’s the one who’s silly,” Levi said back, rolling the girl over on her back and rubbing at her tummy until she kicked and laughed for him, drooling all over herself in her attempts to communicate. If Levi was disgusted by it, he didn’t show it, dabbing at her chin with the handkerchief he always seemed to have on him as of late. 

“Tell us more, Princess Gwen,” Eren cooed at her, his fingers joining Levi’s. “Tell us a story!” 

When Gwen clapped her hands together, once, twice, and then three times, the grin on Eren’s lips looked like it threatened to split his face. “Look, she knows Patty Cake!” 

“She knows you clap in her face and sing to her when she does that,” Levi scoffed, but he was the one to put his hands together and clap first, Eren holding her up and settling her on his knee as he sang the song to go along with it, Levi apparently unwilling to sacrifice that amount of dignity.

Erwin pushed the documents aside to join them.

 

By the beginning of the fourth month, Gwen had started to grow hair. It was peach fuzz, nothing but a little blonde covering. They still couldn’t put any of the millions of the accessories they had in it, though Eren had tried with his usual amount of determination to get a bow or two to stay and had been laughed at for his efforts.

Still, it was obvious her hair was blonde, and that was good enough for Eren. 

Books, along with clothes, were one thing they were definitely not short on. Armin had made certain of that, and Hanji hadn’t been far behind. Gwen was still too young to really understand any of it, and Eren knew that, but it didn’t stop him from telling her stories as he rocked her to sleep, hoping she might be able to understand it on some weird subconscious level, if babies could even do that. 

The thing was, he didn’t usually stick to the book.

That was how he’d ended up telling the story of Goldilocks and her three dads, all very different but living in the same house and raising the same beautiful daughter, Goldilocks, who had come into their lives and made all of them smile, even the Grumpy Dad who thought smiling was dumb. They had been surprised at first, but found that none of them could resist her, not when she was small and cute and perfectly capable of wrapping them around her tiny little fingers. 

Levi and Erwin had walked in on him telling it, but unlike some of his other stories, they didn’t protest. Erwin told the story differently, and when Levi finally gave in, he did, too. Eren thought that made perfect sense. It wasn’t a conventional story, and it wasn’t really one that could be told the same way every time. It always ended the same, though.

With Goldilocks sound asleep in her crib, and her three dads leaning over her, storybook smiles on their lips.


	2. 4 to 6 Months

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a warning for graphic descriptions of diaper changes ; ) 
> 
> Enjoy!

Babies were a lot of work. That was a fact that no one disputed. However, Eren didn’t fully understand exactly how much work they were until he’d been taking care of one for nearly four months. He’d thought that maybe it would get easier to look after Gwen once he got used to the routine.  


It didn’t. 

Gwen grew bigger and stronger and was starting to figure out that nights were for sleeping. But every day by the time Levi and Erwin came home, Eren still felt a little frazzled. Most days went by in a hectic blur of feedings and diapers and crying and naps. Eren was beginning to suspect that Gwen was spoiled and already knew how to manipulate her Daddy into giving her anything when she cried. Why else was he constantly holding Gwen through her naps when he knew she was perfectly capable to sleep on her own? 

Eren didn’t mind, though. Most of the time. 

He loved his princess enough to make it worthwhile. 

If he was feeling frustrated with anyone, it was probably his husbands. Or not husbands. Technically speaking, the three of them weren’t married. It wasn’t legally feasible. That didn’t change the fact that Eren saw them as spouses, though, or that they saw him like that. The term boyfriend wasn’t strong enough to define their relationship and was frankly a little juvenile. Partner was too broad a term, and lover didn’t convey the commitment between them. So, despite not technically being true, they were husbands. Each of them wore a ring to symbolically show their devotion to each other. They had a child now, for god’s sake. 

Regardless of their marital status, Eren was frustrated with them. Every day the two came home, coddled Gwen, and wondered why more hadn’t been done to keep the house clean. Well, mostly it was Levi who complained about the state of the house. Erwin was usually too enchanted by the baby to complain much, but he didn’t protest against it either. 

“I swear to god Levi, I’ve hardly had a chance to breathe. Forget cleaning!” Eren snapped one evening after a particularly long day. “I haven’t even had the chance to shower!” 

The obvious step back that Levi took did nothing to improve his mood. 

Eren knew his husbands weren’t purposely being insensitive. Their work could be very demanding, which was why he hardly ever saw Erwin. But sometimes he felt unfairly overworked. 

What Eren really needed was a little break. The house had been all he’d seen in months and though he loved being here with his family and looking after his little princess, it was getting to be too much. Just a few hours away, so he didn’t feel so restless and worn out. Maybe a date with his big strong boys. They hadn’t had any grown up time in a while. 

He missed it, just a little. 

But still, Gwen was worth every effort. 

 

Logically, Levi had known that with babies came mess. Mess that would only get bigger as the baby grew older. He had prepared himself for this, or at least he’d tried. It was something he’d tried to come to terms with when he’d decided he wanted a kid. Despite these preparations, it was still very trying for Levi to adjust to the changes in cleanliness that Gwen brought with her. 

Obviously, he loved her; she was his baby girl. But he still couldn’t handle her spit up and shitty diapers. Snot, drool, and tears he could deal with. That was the extent. 

“You’re covered in crap,” Levi said to Eren in greeting (they had all agreed to try not to swear around Gwen, since even as a baby she could pick those things up- since she started to listen and turn her head whenever one of her dads was speaking). “And you smell like sour milk.” 

“Gee Levi, it’s good to see you too,” Eren replied sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and handed Gwen over to Levi’s outstretched arms. “I don’t know if you realize this, but babies spit up and cry and rub their snot and tears all over the place.” 

Levi’s nose wrinkled in displeasure in its usual way. Consciously, he pulled Gwen away from himself a little to check the state of her face. Gwen cooed and smiled at her Dad and her nose was clear of snot. 

“I know that, Eren,” Levi retorted. “Why else would you constantly wear those ratty sweatshirts?” 

In response, Eren simply waved a hand as he retreated to the bedroom to change and use the toilet while he had the chance. 

“Were you good for Daddy?” Levi asked Gwen. “Besides being a messy little girl.” 

Gwen, whose eyes had been wandering, turned back to him, reacting to the sound of his voice. Levi nodded and then realized he was being grossly domestic and cutesy like Erwin, responding to a four month old baby as if she’d spoken. Sighing to himself for becoming the sap Eren said he would be, Levi wandered to the kitchen, baby in arm. The sight of a pile of bottles by the sink made him glower. Almost in response, Gwen started to make little grunting noises.

“I know Gwen, Daddy can’t clean up after himself,” Levi replied. 

But Gwen continued grunting and upon inspection, he found she was red faced and concentrating. 

Oh no. 

That was the face she made when she was trying to take a shit. 

Levi did not deal with shit. Literal or otherwise. 

“Eren,” he called out. “Gwen needs to be changed.” 

“Uh, I’m a little busy at the moment!” Eren called back with just a hint of annoyance. 

Panic rose in Levi’s throat. Even if he didn’t deal with poop, he couldn’t just let his girl hang around in a pile of her own shit. 

“She can’t just sit in it!” he called back. 

“Well either you deal with it or wait a few moments!” Eren snapped. 

Several minutes later, Eren found Levi and Gwen in the nursery at the changing table. Levi’s hands hovered over her diaper, trying to gather the will to touch it. Slowly, Eren approached and placed a steadying hand on Levi’s shoulder. 

“I don’t think I can,” Levi hissed with frustration. 

“It’s okay, I’ll take care of it,” Eren replied calmly. 

Levi nodded and stepped out of the nursery. 

 

Everyone knew babies brought love and cuteness with them. However, Erwin didn’t expect how much he would instantly love Gwen or how much cuteness one little baby could possess -- it was quite a bit. Months later he was still as equally enchanted with her. Perhaps a little too enchanted. Erwin knew he was a selfish person. He knew that having a child would test this in ways having two partners couldn’t. It didn’t surprise him at all that he became quite selfish when it came to his princess. 

Nothing made him more content than holding Gwen from the moment he came home to bedtime. Erwin was perfectly aware that he was monopolizing the baby and ignoring his husbands. For the most part, he didn’t care. At least he would actually change diapers, unlike Levi. 

Perhaps Erwin could be more considerate, but he also had that nagging fear at the back of his mind that he wouldn’t have a proper relationship with his daughter. So he needed to start early in ensuring that would never happen. 

He also could probably spoil Gwen a little less. She couldn’t speak and he was already having trouble saying no to her. 

It was becoming a problem, particularly as Christmas approached. 

“She’s four months old, Erwin,” Levi reminded him firmly while they were out doing shopping. It wasn’t even a Christmas related trip to the store, but Erwin couldn’t resist when they passed the bright green and red displays. “She won’t care how many presents she gets or if there are enough decorations. She’s gonna spend the day sleeping and shitting like usual.” 

“Language!” Eren scolded from his position behind Gwen’s stroller. 

Levi simply rolled his eyes. 

“It’s Gwen’s first Christmas, let me go all out,” Erwin replied. He eyed the garlands of lights and beads carefully. They didn’t have enough of those at the house. 

“You do know this isn’t just going to end after her first Christmas, right?” Levi stated flatly. “I know you Erwin Smith. It’s going to get more ridiculous every damn year. Oh, calm down Eren, Gwen’s too distracted by everything to hear me swear.” 

Erwin didn’t answer and continued to push the cart down the aisle towards the tree ornaments. 

With a huff, Levi turned to Eren. “Back me up here. Erwin’s going to spoil her rotten.” 

Eren shrugged a little sheepishly. “It is Gwen’s first Christmas…” 

Erwin sent him an appreciative look, before placing a pack of peppermint stripped sparkly bulbs into the cart. 

“We have plenty of ornaments already,” Levi protested. 

“Don’t be a Scrooge, dear. It’s unattractive,” Erwin replied playfully. Eren laughed and Levi huffed, completely unamused. 

“Your Papa is an idiot,” he mumbled to Gwen (who looked absolutely precious in her little red coat and striped hat with a puff on top). “Your Daddy, too.” 

“Let’s go ahead and check out,” Erwin declared, ignoring the grumpy remarks. 

At the checkout line, Gwen was cooed at fondly by the older lady behind them in line. Eren proudly angled her stroller to show his Princess off. Seemingly fond of the attention, Gwen smiled and gurgled pleasantly, drawing ‘awws’ from her new audience. 

“Her name is Gwen,” Eren declared smugly. 

“Oh, she’s such a cutie!” the woman complimented. She looked from Gwen to the three of them. Erwin could see she was trying to figure out their relations. “You must be the father. She gets those blonde curls from you, right?” she decided, gesturing right to Erwin. 

Immediately, Erwin could see Eren stiffen and the pleased look on his face freeze while Levi scowled a little more aggressively. He intervened quickly, before one of them could say something rude. 

“Actually, we’re all the fathers,” he corrected. 

The lady blinked in surprise. “Oh…. That’s nice,” she said awkwardly, looking thoroughly confused. 

Erwin couldn’t help the swell of pride in his chest, knowing that he was the one mistaken as Gwen’s ‘true’ father. He also knew it was rather selfish of him, but couldn’t say he cared. 

 

In the midst of the Christmas rush and crazy associated with December, Gwen had her four month checkup. Eren took her in the middle of the day without Erwin and Levi, the visit feeling more like a routine after the first few. Everything with Gwen was fine and healthy. She was growing into a strong baby girl, just as Eren knew she would. After all, she was already great at everything she did. 

“My big strong girl,” Eren cooed. “You’re so good at growing!” 

The pediatrician emphasized once again that the best way to ensure that Gwen slept through the night was to let her cry. 

“Don’t get up and rock her unless she’s been crying for 10-15 minutes,” the doctor instructed. “She only cries because she knows you’ll give her attention.” 

Eren blushed from the chastisement and muttered under his breath about not being the only one to spoil her. However he also promised to make a better effort. For Gwen’s sake. 

Next came something that Eren wasn’t prepared for, but should’ve expected. 

Shots. Two in each of Gwen’s chubby little thighs.

“Just hold her still on your lap,” the doctor instructed, as she wiped a cotton swab of disinfectant over the injection areas. 

Eren wrapped an arm around her and patted her fuzzy head in a comforting manner. Unaware, Gwen kicked her legs in interest at what these strange people were doing. 

“I’m sorry, baby,” Eren whispered apologetically in advance, helping the doctor hold her legs still. “It’ll help you grow into a healthy big girl, I promise.” 

Then the first shot was stuck into her thigh and injected. Gwen started in surprise and shrieked while Eren and the nurse held her down. With tears running down her cheeks and a red face, she twisted her head to look up at Eren and the next shots were delivered. The look of utter shock and betrayal on her face made Eren’s heart clench as Gwen continued to wail. 

‘How could you let these people hurt me?’ her expression read. ‘How could you help them? Why are you doing this to me?’

It was only a few moments and then bright band aids were placed over the owies and Eren was holding Gwen to his chest. 

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, Princess,” Eren repeated over and over, feeling guilty for letting his baby be hurt. 

Gwen pushed away from his chest -- only for a moment as that was as long as she had strength -- and looked at her Daddy with pouting lips and quiet tears running down her face. It took a moment for Eren to realize that he was nearly in tears as well. 

Later, when the two had returned to the house, Levi was called home from work early. The doctor visit had been too traumatizing for all involved. 

 

Surprisingly, the only people more excited about Gwen’s first Christmas, other than Erwin, were her Aunt Mikasa, Uncle Armin, and Hanji (who was experimenting with being referred to as Unty Hanji). Gwen had by far the most present under the tree from her fathers, grandparents, and pretty much everyone else who were close to the family. No one really cared much about presents for anyone else. Why buy presents for dull grown persons when there was an adorable baby to dote on?

“She won’t even appreciate the gifts,” Levi reminded everyone as Mikasa added her little stack of presents for Gwen under the tree.

“You have a child that you buy things for all the time. We don’t get that opportunity,” Armin countered. “Let us spoil her while we have an excuse.”

Both Erwin and Eren made a big deal of decorating the house with garlands of fake holly (because Levi refused to clean up after live plants) and wreaths and bows and angels and whatever the hell else they could get away with. One could hardly move around their house without running into some kind of decoration. Levi put his foot down at tinsel though, as it got everywhere and was a choking hazard. 

Hung on the mantel beside Erwin, Eren, and Levi’s usual stockings was Gwen’s. There was much debate over the color and decoration of her stocking, until the boys finally found one they could agree on. It was green and adorned with a candy cane. Her name was written across in fancy gold script. 

“In a few years, we’ll get to be Santa!” Eren said excitedly to Mikasa and Armin as they decorated the tree together. 

“We are not going to lie to our child with that stupid fairytale,” Levi protested. 

“Oh come on, Levi,” Eren whined. 

“I don’t see any harm in it,” Armin began. 

“You’re being a Scrooge again, dear,” Erwin warned lightly. 

“Gwen has enough presents from everyone else we possibly know. She doesn’t need Santa,” Levi stated flatly.

“Why don’t we discuss this another time, in a few years when it’s more relevant,” Erwin suggested. He didn’t want a fight around Christmas. And this would be one of those topics that Erwin would fight his spouse on.

With Gwen, it seemed Erwin wanted to start any and all Christmas traditions. Eren did nothing but encouraged him and Levi was left trying to reign in two determined and unstoppable forces. They decorated a ginger bread house with Gwen, despite her not being able to do anything other than sit on Erwin’s lap and grab at candies and try to stick them in her mouth before one of her dads could stop her. Levi took pictures anyway, but only because Gwen looked cute in her little Christmas sweater. 

Eren and Erwin teased Levi, saying that he was only being such a Scrooge because he was jealous that Gwen’s first Christmas was overshadowing his birthday. That was completely ridiculous. Levi had long since come to terms with the fact that his birthday would always be overshadowed and he no longer gave a shit. Besides, he too was more excited for Gwen’s first Christmas to care about his own birthday. Not that he would tell anyone. 

Christmas morning wasn’t as lazy and slow as it usually was. As soon as everyone was up, they were at the tree and excitedly distributing presents. Eren, Levi, and Erwin took turns opening Gwen’s multitude of presents. Each one was present to her with excited tones and smiles. She responded charmingly with smiles and gurgles, but by the time they were halfway through, she was overwhelmed and started to cry. 

“We can show her the rest later,” Levi suggested as he bounced her in his arms. “It’s time for her to eat anyway.” 

While Gwen had her midmorning nap, the adults exchanged their own presents, which weren’t as fun and exciting to open, but still appreciated. Eren and Erwin took it upon themselves to open the rest of Gwen’s presents and fawn over her new toys and outfits. 

“Look Levi! It’s a little sailor outfit! And there’s a crab on the bum -- how cute! Oh, look at the matching hat!” Eren said excitedly. He threw himself over to Mikasa and gave her a big hug. “Thanks Kasa, you’re the best aunt ever.” 

Mikasa flushed but returned the hug. 

In the afternoon, Erwin's parents stopped by. Gwen was passed from one set of willing arms to another, being cooed and fawned at. She was quite pleased to be held constantly and enjoyed all the new things to hold and tug and try to fit in her mouth. The rest of the day passed like that, with eating sweets, chatting and playing with the baby.  
By the end of the day, they all ended up on the floor, watching Gwen push her head and chest up and kick her legs out. 

“She’s going to be rolling over soon,” Erwin predicted.

“That’s my smart Princess Gwen,” Eren praised, booping her little nose, which made Gwen giggle. 

To the side, Levi was removing the tags and folding the new clothes Gwen had received. He arranged the piles by size, noting that some things probably wouldn’t fit her for a few months. 

“You know,” he said slowly, drawing Erwin and Eren’s attention. “Christmas is more fun with a kid.” 

“I knew our Scrooge would come around!” Eren laughed and Levi huffed in annoyance as Erwin leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. 

 

Nights were becoming very difficult for Erwin (and thus becoming difficult for Eren and Levi by association). With the new reiteration from the doctor to let Gwen cry to help her sleep through the night, Eren and Levi had put their collective feet down and were holding firm to not getting up to comfort her. It meant listening to a lot of crying and trying to sleep through it. 

This was proving to be more than Erwin could handle. 

Sure, he was excited for the future days when he wouldn’t be kicked in the middle of the night to take care of a wailing baby. He was looking forward to not being exhausted every morning and maybe getting to have more time at night to dote on his husbands. 

However he couldn’t just ignore his baby girl while she cried. 

“Just let me go rock her,” he said one night after Christmas. They were all huddled in bed listening to Gwen’s echoing screeches. 

“No, not until it’s been at least ten minutes,” Eren stated firmly, snuggling closer to him. 

“Then you can go get her,” Levi affirmed. “But she’ll probably go back to sleep by then.” 

But that wasn’t easy for Erwin to accept. Each second that passed made his heart ache, hearing Gwen’s increasingly insistent and angry cries. He was her Papa, he was supposed to protect her, do everything he could to prevent her from crying like this. Just leaving her there, alone and upset and in the dark, felt wrong. 

Erwin lasted about five minutes before he sat up. 

“No, Erwin Smith don’t you dare!” Levi cried, sitting up to stop him. 

Erwin was halfway out of the bed when Eren threw himself into a tackle. The two rolled off the bed in a tangle of limbs and a loud thunk. 

“Levi, help me hold him down,” Eren said desperately, not being big enough on his own to keep Erwin down. 

“Eren, stop, this is ridiculous,” Erwin said, trying to push the smaller man off of him, but Eren was straddled across his chest and pressing his hands against his shoulders. Levi was watching them both from the bed, lifted up on his elbows. 

“Are you going to get Gwen if I let you go?” Eren asked. Erwin hesitated too long in answering. It was all the response Eren needed to know that Erwin was too much of a big softie. “Then I’m just going to sit on you as long as it’s necessary.” 

Levi huffed in amusement. “Erwin stop being an idiot and just let her cry.” 

“How can you just let our baby cry? What if she needs us?” Erwin argued back. 

“She doesn’t. She just wants to be held all night long, you know this,” Levi snapped. 

“You two are overreacting,” Erwin criticized. 

“I want my nights back!” Eren cried, sounding only slightly hysterical. “We’re all too busy and tired to do anything anymore!” 

The room was still from the surprise at the outburst. The two older men understood the implied meaning of Eren’s outcry. They were all silent a moment. Erwin ran his hands up Eren’s sides slowly, making circular motions with his thumbs. 

“Are you feeling neglected, Eren?” Erwin asked softly. 

“This isn’t about me, it’s about helping Gwen sleep through the night,” Eren said quietly, with a small blush. He wouldn’t look Erwin in the eye.

“She’s stopped crying,” Levi noted and they were all silent again, listening. 

There wasn’t any sound coming from the nursery. Eren slipped off of his husband and climbed back into bed. Next, Erwin followed behind and pulled Eren close to him and left little kisses on the back of his neck and in his hair. Levi scooted to cuddle against Eren’s chest and kissed his collarbone. 

“I told you she’d go back to sleep if we just let her cry,” Eren mumbled as they all started to drift back to sleep. 

 

For New Year’s, Eren was really hoping to be able to go out with his husbands. They hadn’t had a night out since Gwen came into their lives. Not that this was a big deal, Eren just needed a night without having to worry about the baby. Everyone needed a break every once in a while, right? Unfortunately, it seemed Eren was the only one ready to leave Gwen with a babysitter. 

“There’s no way I’m leaving her with some stranger,” Levi said firmly. 

“It wouldn’t have to be a stranger,” Eren countered. “What about Hanji? Or Mikasa and Armin?” 

“Wouldn’t you want to spend New Year’s with your siblings?” Erwin asked, looking up from Gwen who was sitting on his knees. She could almost sit up on her own, if someone held onto her hands to keep her balanced. 

Eren frowned at that. He did want to spend time with Mikasa and Armin. “Well, that still leaves Hanji,” he continued. 

“That’s never going to happen,” Levi stated with such finality that Eren didn’t bother trying to change his mind. 

To appease everyone, they held a little get together at their house instead. The usual Thanksgiving crew was invited and the evening was pleasant. Everyone was charmed by baby Gwen and her adorable toothless smile that scrunched up her nose. When they weren’t occupied with Gwen, they fussed over Krista who looked ready to pop, being about eight months along with twins. It was quiet and friendly all around. 

That is until Hanji showed up with the alcohol after Gwen had been put down for the night. 

“We can’t have a New Year’s party without something bubbly to drink,” they explained when Levi gave them that disapproving look of his. 

“Just don’t do anything crazy,” Erwin said placating, “Gwen’s been put down for the night.”

“Don’t be sticks in the mud. Having a baby has made you guys no fun!” they complained before heading towards the kitchen where the snacks were. 

Levi rolled his eyes and followed after them to make sure they didn’t mess up the perfect order of his kitchen and Erwin gave Eren a loving pat on the head before going to mingle. But Eren stood in the entryway, thinking about what Hanji had said. Something about it bothered him. 

Logically, he knew having a baby would change him. But he expected it would always be for the better. Eren always considered himself to be fun- he’d been pretty wild as a teenager, though those weren’t the best years for him. The thought of him not being fun anymore or, heaven forbid, becoming as dull as Erwin’s parents was suddenly very frightening. 

It was true, though. Since Gwen he hadn’t had a night out with his friends or his husbands. Normally he wouldn’t be concerned at all with Hanji bringing alcohol to a party. This time he wasn’t even considering getting drunk before midnight, something that would be par for the course usually. 

“Eren, there you are,” Mikasa interrupted his crisis. She and Armin were suddenly standing before him. “What are you doing over here?” 

But Eren ignored her question and asked, “Has having Gwen changed me?” 

“What do you mean?” Armin asked, looking confused.

“I mean am I no fun anymore?” he asked. 

The two people that were closest to being siblings to him shared a confused look. 

“I wouldn’t say you’re no fun,” Armin answered slowly. “You’re just more responsible now. You’ve got someone else to look after.” 

“That’s not a bad thing,” Mikasa reassured him. 

And that was all the answer Eren needed to know that he was, in fact, no longer any fun. Mikasa and Armin, though he loved them, were too responsible to do many of the things Eren found enjoyable. 

“I’m going to go get a drink,” Eren said suddenly. 

A few hours later and minutes away from midnight found Eren pleasantly drunk and straddling Levi’s lap on the couch. Eren was an affectionate person in general and became more so when intoxicated. He left a trail of kisses down Levi’s throat, who was trying to get this over affectionate lap dog to calm down. 

“Eren, please, we have people over,” Levi protested quietly. He was feeling both embarrassed and a little aroused, but knew Eren needed to stop, at least until all the guests were gone. 

Eren made a little whining sound. “But I love you,” he replied, nuzzling his face into Levi’s shoulder. “Where’s Erwin, I need to kiss you both at midnight!” he said, head popping up suddenly and glancing around. When he caught sight of his target, he waved him over, calling out, “Erwin! Come here! I need to eat your face!” 

Looking a little confused and maybe slightly concerned Erwin approached and sat down next to the pair. Almost immediately, Eren threw himself at him, wrapping his arms around Erwin’s neck and attacking his mouth. Erwin had to use both hands to push him back. 

“Eren, are you drunk?” Erwin asked, surprised. 

“Yah,” Eren giggled. “Now let me kiss you!” 

Around them, everyone started the countdown for midnight, which Eren joined in enthusiastically. Levi and Erwin shared a concerned look, but willingly kissed their young spouse as the clock struck midnight. 

“Okay Eren, what’s going on?” Levi asked when he forced Eren to pull away. 

Eren made a pouting face. “Nothing. I’m just being my normal, fun self,” he answered firmly and leaned in to kiss his husband once again. He was quite put out when he was stopped once again. 

“This isn’t normal, Eren,” Levi responded. 

A look of hurt flashed across Eren’s face and he clumsily pulled himself from his position on both of their laps. Erwin and Levi shared a look, before Erwin stood up as well and picked up Eren. The young man flailed angrily but was ultimately unable to do anything while intoxicated and being manhandled by his big, strong husband. 

“I’ll take care of him, if you’ll see to our guests,” Erwin said to Levi, who grunted in affirmation.

Erwin took his protesting lover back to their bedroom before gently setting him on their bed. In a show of discontent, Eren pouted and crossed his arms. 

“I’m fine!” he insisted, but didn’t sound convincing in his state of drunkenness. Skeptical, Erwin sat down beside him and looked into his face, but Eren refused to meet his gaze. 

“Does this have to do with what you said the other night?” Erwin asked gently. “Are you feeling neglected?” 

The juvenile noise of annoyance was enough of an answer. 

“I’m just having fun,” Eren stated firmly. “Just being my usual self. Just ‘cause I have a baby doesn’t mean I can’t have fun! I’m the fun one. That’s why you and Levi like me. An’ you haven’t been paying attention to me because I haven’t been fun since the baby came. So I’m being fun again.” 

“Oh, Eren,” Erwin sighed, the pieces coming together in his mind. “Are you really bothered by what Hanji said earlier?” 

“No,” he protested stubbornly. Then he frowned. “Maybe,” he allowed. 

“Sweetheart, you know Levi and I don’t care about what they said, right?” Erwin said softly, pulling Eren into his chest. “We love you the way you are. And maybe we haven’t had much time to show it recently with Gwen around, but nothing has changed in the way we feel about you.” 

Erwin felt Eren nod against him, weakly. His arms tightened around Eren when he felt him start to cry, overwhelmed by feeling and intoxication. Dutifully, Erwin held him and murmured sweet nothings until Eren drifted off to sleep. 

The next morning, even Levi was gentle in helping Eren nurse his hangover. 

 

One day in the early part of January, Erwin and Levi received an excited text from Eren with a video attached. They opened it to see Gwen lying on her back on a blanket on the family room floor. 

“Can you do it again? Can you show Papa and Dad what a smart baby girl you are?” Eren cooed from behind the camera. 

For a moment nothing happened. Gwen continued kicking her legs and gurgling. Then she did it. She twisted her body and rolled over onto her stomach. Eren exploded in cheers and Gwen giggled and smile, looking proud of herself. 

The video ended and Erwin wanted nothing more than to go home and watch his baby girl performing her newfound skill. But he was stuck at work. Instead, he sent Eren a response back, telling him to give Gwen a kiss for him. He received a picture of Eren on the floor, taking a selfie of himself giving Gwen a kiss on her fuzzy head. 

Erwin then proceeded to, in a completely professional manner, show all of the people in his office the video of his brilliant daughter. Levi tried not to strangle Erwin out of embarrassment. But he was beaming with pride on the inside. Ever so casually, he forwarded the video to Annie, who he sent updates to every once in a while. 

Later that evening, when Erwin and Levi were home, they spent a good hour applauding Gwen as she rolled over and pushed herself up. Gwen adored the attention and happily repeated the same motions over and over until she was tired. 

“Sleepy Princess Gwen,” Erwin smiled at her as she blinked tiredly in his arms. 

“She’s had a busy day,” Levi said. 

“Our little Gwen is going to be the smartest girl in the world,” Eren sighed, leaning against Erwin’s shoulder to smile at the baby. 

“She’s growing so fast,” Levi noted. “We’re going to have to keep a closer eye on her now that she’s mobile.” 

“Good thing she has three sets of eyes watching her,” Erwin murmured. 

 

It was one of those days where Gwen wouldn’t stop crying. 

Eren was exhausted and covered in snot and spit up. The two of them were lying on the floor. Gwen was wailing in protest about something and Eren was feeling out of options. 

“What do you want from me?” he asked desperately. Obviously there was no response, but he sat up to look the baby in the eye. “Well? You’re fed, you’re clean, you’re apparently not satisfied by my baby holding skills and you’ve already spit up all over. What do you want from me?” 

Sensing her Daddy’s mood, Gwen cried even harder. Frustrated, Eren ran his fingers through his hair. 

“Why did I even want a baby?” he yelled, the meaning of his words not reaching him till after he spoke. 

Gwen startled into silence and looked at Eren with a surprised and hurt expression before she continued to cry. 

“Wait, no! I’m sorry Gwen, I didn’t mean it,” Eren took it back quickly. He picked her up and held her against his chest. “I love you, baby girl. I’m just tired and I don’t know what to do and I don’t think I’m cut out for this father thing.” 

It didn’t matter to Eren that Gwen didn’t understand what he was saying. She could understand his tone and that was enough. 

“I could never regret having you,” Eren assured her quietly. 

 

Eren eventually needed a day out to keep him from going stir crazy. 

“I don’t care what it is, I just need to get out of the house,” he explained handing Gwen off to Levi. They were standing by the front door and Eren proceeded to put his coat on. “I’ll get the grocery shopping done, if you can look after Gwen.” 

Levi huffed. “I’m not incompetent. I’ve taken care of her too.” 

“I know, I know,” Eren said dismissively, waving a hand. He stepped into his shoes. “I just know how you get about spit up and diapers.” 

Erwin was at the office again. So Levi was left alone with the baby. This was the first occurrence of this happening, but he wasn’t concerned. Eren had just changed, fed, and burped her, so there shouldn’t be any difficulties. Levi could even say he was looking forward to some alone time with Gwen. 

“It’s just you and me, girl,” Levi told her as he sat down on the couch. He lifted her up so she was standing on her legs, supporting her own weight while Levi kept her balanced. “The silly fathers are gone. So no shitting on me, got it?” 

Gwen babbled in response. 

“Good girl,” Levi replied. He was over any embarrassment about having conversations with a baby. At least he didn’t speak in a stupid voice like Eren and Erwin. 

The two spent a good part of an hour pleasantly playing with brightly colored toys. Levi waved things in front of her face while she batted at them. Or he took her feet in his hands and talked to Gwen about her toes. Gwen was fond of her toes and liked to grab at them with her chubby fingers. 

“What’s that story Daddy’s always telling you? Goldilocks and her three dads?” Levi thought aloud. He proceeded to make up his own half assed version on the story in preparation to put Gwen down for a nap.

And then it happened. 

While Gwen was rolling back and forth she started making the face. Levi referred to it as her shitting face. It was the face she made when she was busy trying to crap her pants. At first, Levi thought she was just passing gas, since Eren had already changed her. But then she started to smell. 

Levi sent a quick text to Eren, asking when he was going to be back and determined to wait it out. Based on the last time he tried to change a diaper, he knew it was best just to wait and ignore the fact his daughter was sitting in a stinking pile of waste. 

He lasted until he picked her up and felt wetness on her bottom. It was warm and damp and Levi’s heart plummeted into his stomach. His fears were confirmed when he lifted Gwen up to eye level, lifted the hem of her shirt (she was wearing a green outfit that day) and saw the brown leaking up her onesie. 

It was a leaky diaper. 

The sudden tightness in his chest nearly stopped his breathing. Then he reacted quickly, hurrying to the nursery. Gwen seemed to sense her Dad’s distress and wrinkled her nose. 

“It’s okay, I can handle this,” Levi said to himself. It didn’t help as much as he hoped. 

He placed Gwen on the changing table and knew he would be scrubbing it down he was done. As carefully as he could manage, Levi removed Gwen’s outfit and onesie from her without spreading the poopy mess. The offending articles were thrown straight into the garbage- Levi wasn’t going to bother cleaning them. 

Unhelpfully, Gwen was kicking her legs around as Levi was trying to hold her still. From what he could tell, the leak had mostly stayed in the diaper and gone up her back. With a steadying breath, Levi reached for the diaper to undo it. Underneath was a disaster of runny brown goop. 

“Holy fucking shit,” Levi breathed, too disturbed to curb his swearing. 

Gingerly, he lifted Gwen’s legs by the ankles and folded the diaper down, trying to contain as much of the poop as he could. Keeping Gwen’s lower half up and away from the table with one hand, Levi threw the diaper away with the other. 

There was still all the poop covering Gwen’s bottom, thighs, and back and Gwen was starting to wiggle in protest. 

“C’mon baby girl, just hold still for me,” Levi murmured desperately. 

Using approximately half a container of wipes, Levi methodically cleaned the girl up, going slowly to avoid getting any more shit on himself. Gwen was very upset by the end, whining and red faced. But she was clean and in a new diaper. 

Shaking from the ordeal, Levi put Gwen down in her crib and immediately scrubbed his hands and arms until they were red and raw. Then he scrubbed the changing table and threw out the garbage bag with the offending items. 

Eren returned home after that, finding Levi scrubbing at his hands again. 

“What happened? Everything okay?” Eren asked quickly, coming up behind the shorter man. 

“Yeah,” Levi answered shakily. “Gwen had a leaky diaper.” 

Eren’s eyes went wide and he grabbed Levi by the shoulders to turn him around. 

“Are you okay? Do I need to take care of it-“ 

“I did it,” Levi said slowly. “I changed her diaper.” 

“Really?” Eren asked in disbelief. When Levi nodded weakly he pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m so proud of you! Are you alright? I can’t believe it.” 

Levi allowed him to smile against Eren’s chest before returning the hug. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered gruffly. “Stop being so dramatic.” 

He was still feeling a little shaken and a little panicked. But he had changed his first diaper and a leaky one at that! Eren held him and gave him reassuring kisses until Levi was relaxed enough. He could tell when Levi was feeling better when he scolded him for leaving the groceries all over the floor. 

Before Levi could start cleaning up though, Eren forced him into a celebratory selfie and text to Erwin. 

If it had been anyone else’s baby, it never would have happened. 

But Levi could do it for Gwen. 

Well, if he was the only option. 

 

One evening, Erwin was lying on the couch with Gwen on his chest. The day had been long and dull and he was happy to relax. Having Gwen on his chest was a pleasant weight. She was warm and soft and perfect. He loved to rub his cheek against the fluff of her head and feel her little hand wrapped around his finger. 

“Lazy ass, get up and set the table for dinner,” Levi instructed, rudely interrupting his peaceful rest with a poke on his forehead.

“I’m coming,” Erwin hummed. Slowly he sat up, as not to jostle Gwen too much. He placed her back on the couch and left her to sleep while he took care of the table. 

“Where’s the baby?” Eren asked from his spot at the stove. 

“She’s sleeping,” Erwin answered as he set about doing his chore.

“How was work?” Eren asked. 

“Long,” Erwin answered shortly. He knew Eren didn’t really care to know the details of his job. He was only checking to see how Erwin was doing. “Just the usual. It’s been a long week already, and –“ 

Erwin’s words were stopped mid-sentence at the sound of a thump and Gwen’s startled crying, which rose to desperate wailing very quickly. In an instant, Erwin dropped everything he was doing and rushed back to the living room. He barely registered Levi and Eren coming right behind him. 

Gwen was lying face down on the ground next to the couch. Carefully, Erwin picked her up and turned her over. Her face was red from screeching and a lump was already forming on her forehead. 

“What happened?” Eren cried. Gwen wasn’t calming down from Erwin’s hold and comforting pats and he could almost always calm her down when she was upset. 

“I left her on the couch, she was asleep-“ Erwin began frantically, having to nearly yell over Gwen’s wailing. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Levi yelled in response. “You can’t do that, Erwin! She clearly rolled over and fell!” 

“We need to get her to urgent care,” Eren said as he dropped to his knees beside Erwin. He inspected the wound on Gwen’s head and gently fingered the bump. Her crying hadn’t calmed yet. “She could be seriously hurt. There’s a clinic nearby.” 

But Levi was still glaring at Erwin. “This is your damn fault. She better be alright or I swear to god –“

“We don’t have time to argue!” Eren was already standing up. This seemed to snap Erwin out of stunned stupor and he quickly and calmly took control over the situation. 

“Eren, get the car seat. Levi, the diaper bag,” Erwin instructed firmly. His mind was in crisis mode and didn’t allow him to feel hurt or guilty. Right now his only concern was Gwen. “And make sure the stove is off!” He added as afterthought. 

The three moved quickly and in a few minutes Gwen, who was still crying, was in the car and Erwin was frantically driving to the clinic. As the second most likely parent to calm Gwen when she was upset, Eren sat in the back seat trying to shush her with a pacifier. 

“It’s alright baby girl, Daddy’s right here,” he repeated soothingly. 

In the passenger seat, Levi was staring ahead, stony faced and gripping the diaper bag with white knuckles. The most important thing in his life was hurt and he couldn’t do anything about it. He was frustrated and furious and directing all those feeling of blame at Erwin. If it was irrational, he didn’t care. 

At the clinic, the three concerned father’s moved wordlessly, quickly getting out of the car and checking in. Almost immediately, they were let into an examination room and were waiting for a doctor. Gwen was being held by Eren, who was seating between the others. The crying had stopped, but Gwen still looked distraught, red eyed, and sniffling. Gently, Eren patted her back and rocked from side to side, humming quietly. 

The doctor came into the room and looked skeptically at the three grown men- two of whom looked very frightening- and baby waiting for him.

“Hello,” he greeted calmly, “Please explain the reason for your visit?” he asked and Erwin immediately launched into an explanation. 

The doctor directed Eren to sit on the examination table while holding Gwen on his lap. Gingerly, he touched Gwen’s forehead and looked into her eyes. He asked several questions which Erwin answered succinctly and honestly. 

“The good news is she’s fine,” the doctor announced. 

Everyone visibly relaxed at his statement. 

“Unless there’s a change in her sleeping or her breathing becomes irregular, there’s no permanent damage. She’ll have a bruise, but she should be fine. Babies are made to bounce,” the doctor explained with a smile. 

The flippancy of the phrase made Levi scowl fiercely at the doctor, but he seemed unaffected. 

“First child?” he asked, directing the question at Erwin. He only nodded in response. “It’s good to be cautious, but don’t worry. Bumps all happen from time to time.” 

This eased Eren, but Levi still looked fit to hurt someone and Erwin was being the sort of cold stoic that meant he was feeling a lot more than he was showing. Still, Erwin placed a calming hand on Levi’s shoulder, which was promptly shoved off and thanked the doctor for his time. 

The ride back to the house was equally tense and quiet. In the back seat, Eren shifted uncomfortably. 

“At least Gwen is alright?” he offered, trying to be optimistic. 

“No thanks to Erwin,” Levi said bitingly. 

“It was an accident,” Eren countered. 

“But it shouldn’t have happened,” Erwin cut in. “I should have known better. Levi is right to be upset with me.” 

Levi glanced wearily in his direction but said nothing. 

“I know we say that we’re going to protect Gwen from everything. But we all know it’s impossible,” Eren tried again, but was stopped short at the sound of Erwin slamming his fist on the wheel.

“Gwen shouldn’t have to worry about being hurt by her own father!” he snapped. 

“But it’s not your fault! It was an accident!” Eren protested. 

“Leave it Eren,” Levi cut in. “You can’t talk Erwin out of his brooding. He’s too self-important for that.” 

The three of them sat in tense silence the rest of the way back. Once at the house, Eren mentioned something about taking care of Gwen and letting the two of them talk it out. Levi and Erwin stood on opposite sides of the kitchen, remaining silent. 

“I’m not angry at you for this whole mess,” Levi said finally. “But I am annoyed with that pouting look on your face. Don’t think I don’t know the shit that’s going through your head. You’re not a bad father for this.” 

Erwin looked away but didn’t say anything.

“If anyone is the bad father, it’s me,” Levi continued. “I did nothing but yell at you when you and Eren took care of Gwen. I was useless when our baby was in trouble. I’m not even good at comforting her.” 

“You guys are both stupid,” Eren commented from the hallway. “You both are so torn up about this that you won’t make the same mistake again. It’s clear enough you would give anything to keep Gwen safe and happy.”

The two men thought on Eren’s words, which sounded very similar to what Levi had told him months before. 

“What’s really odd is that Eren has been the voice of reason today,” Erwin spoke up. 

The tension was broken and Levi laughed while Eren protested vehemently. 

“Must be all that time at home with the baby,” Levi concluded as they came together for a hug. 

“Damn straight.” 

 

“Are you done burping her?” Levi asked impatiently. 

Eren glanced at him in annoyance as he patted Gwen’s back rhythmically. They both sat on the couch where Levi had just finished feeding their little girl and was eager to get her back. 

“Feeling impatient, are we?” Eren replied slyly. 

“Look,” Levi huffed, “I don’t get to hold Gwen all day long like you and Erwin. And I’ve also had a pretty crap day. So forgive me for wanting to spend time with the most pleasant part of my life.” 

Eren smiled and handed over the girl in his arms. “There you go then,” he said cheerfully. “I just like to hear you talk about how much you love her.” 

Rolling his eyes, Levi bounced the baby girl on his knees. He resisted the urge to smile. 

“Why are you always so surprised when I –“ he started, but was cut short as Gwen burped and projectile vomited all over Levi’s lap. 

The two men sat stunned for a moment as Levi felt the warm, smelly mess soak into his clothes. Then Eren was bursting into laughter and the shock and disgust on Levi’s face. Gwen was smiling at her Daddy’s laughing. 

“Take her, take her!” Levi cried, holding her up and away from his lap as she gurgled. 

Much slower than Levi would have liked, Eren took their daughter back, still laughing. 

“Good girl. That’s my good little princess!” he cooed as he wiped her face with the burp rag. 

“Don’t encourage her!” Levi protested as he hurried from the couch to change. 

This only made Eren laugh harder. “Oh come on,” he teased. “It’s only spit up. It’s a lot less gross than adult vomit! I can throw up on you to compare.” 

“Don’t you fucking dare!” Levi growled, peeking his head around the corner, already changed into a new pair of pants and shirt. “And stop laughing.” 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Eren placated, doing his best to muffle his giggling. “Come back and take Gwen, I think she’s done making a mess.” 

 

Towards the end of January, work for Levi and Erwin became rather busy suddenly and both were away from the house more than usual. This left Eren to take care of nearly everything at home. Under normal circumstances, or rather, under circumstances when they didn’t have a five month old child, Eren didn’t mind. He was happy to do things to make them less stressed and more relaxed at home. 

However with Gwen, Eren was feeling worn out and overworked. At least Gwen was finally sleeping through the night. But still, by the end of a particularly crazy week and half of both of his partners returning home from work after Gwen was in bed, Eren put his foot down. 

“That’s it! You two are going to get off work at a reasonable time tomorrow and then you’re going to take Gwen and me to dinner. And then the three of us are going to spend some quality grown up time together. Understood?” he demanded. 

Levi and Erwin looked up from where they sat on the bed, discussing a stack of documents between them. They shared a guilty look before turning back to their younger spouse. 

“Eren, I know we haven’t been able to give you two as much attention as you’d –“ Erwin began. 

But Eren was having none of his slick manipulating. 

“No, that’s not an option,” Eren cut him off. “It’s been nearly half a year since we went out to dinner.” 

“I understand this has been something that’s bothered you for a while –“ Erwin tried again. 

Again, Eren cut him off. He knew it was time to draw his trump card. “This is not just about me,” he reminded them. “Gwen misses you.” 

The pained expressions on their faces told Eren that he had won. Erwin’s manipulation skills had rubbed off on him. Not that it really took much persuasion to convince them to spend time with their beloved princess. 

The next day was a Friday. Like Eren demanded, Erwin was sure to guarantee that he and Levi were off at a normal hour. It did help that Erwin was very important and had plenty of underlings to delegate work to. Normally, he didn’t like to do so, but he could afford to every once in a while. 

Once the two of them got home, they found Eren and Gwen waiting for them in their best clothes. Gwen’s face lit up as she saw them, looking darling in her little green dress. Her body leaned towards Erwin as Eren stood to greet the two with a kiss. The swell of pride and love Erwin felt as Gwen squirmed in Eren’s grip made the early off worth it. 

“I told you she missed you guys,” Eren said smugly as he handed the baby off. 

“We’re happy to see you too, Princess,” Erwin cooed and Gwen’s nose wrinkled from the force of her smile. 

“What about me?” Levi huffed. “Am I a pile of sh -- crap?” 

Eren pulled him into a quick hug and gave him a peck on the cheek for the efforts he took not to swear in front of the baby. 

“I meant Gwen,” Levi said teasingly and pushed Eren aside to take the baby from Erwin. “Hello, how’s my girl?” 

“Hey!” Eren protested in mock offense. 

Erwin put an arm around his shoulders and placed a kiss on his head. “I like coming home to this. Maybe you should greet me like this all the time,” he stated. 

“Maybe if you didn’t go running straight to the baby every time you got home,” Levi teased. “So where are you making us take you to dinner?” 

They went to their favorite fancy restaurant, the place Erwin had first taken Levi on an official date and in turn it was the first place the two of them had taken Eren to dinner. Now it was the first time the three of them took Gwen, even if she couldn’t appreciate it. 

The family sat in a table towards the back, where they received fewer stares. Throughout the dinner, Gwen took turns sitting on Levi and Erwin’s laps and in turn Levi and Erwin took turns eating. Eren talked cheerfully, happy to have the attention of his two boys. Most of the talk revolved around Gwen and the things she did. She was, after all, the first and foremost on each of their minds.

“Satisfied?” Levi asked Eren when they were back home. Erwin was putting Gwen down while they were changing into something more comfortable. 

“Almost,” Eren hummed. He came up from behind Levi and wrapped his hands around his waist. “I can think of something else that would make me even happier,” he murmured in his ear. 

“Oh really?” Levi replied coyly, pressing back against the chest behind him. “What makes you think you’ll get it?” 

“Because I know you’ve missed it as much as me,” Eren answered, his hands slowly trailing up and down Levi’s torso. 

“Horny brat,” Levi complained, but there was no malice in his voice. He turned himself around in Eren’s arms and leaned up to hiss him slowly. They moved together, kissing tenderly, savoring each moment. 

“Hey, you got started without me?” Erwin complained. “And this is what I get for taking you to dinner?” 

Levi rolled his eyes. “Then get your ass over here, you big lunk.” 

“Let us show you how thankful we are for dinner,” Eren crooned. 

Eren found he was very satisfied with their grown up time that night and swore that he wouldn’t let them go so long again without it. 

 

“What are you two doing?” Erwin asked when he returned home one evening in early February to find Levi and Eren sitting silently on the floor of the living room. 

“Shhh!” he was shushed instantly by Eren. 

“Just watch,” Levi whispered, pointing to Gwen. 

The baby girl was sitting propped up by several pillows on the floor, surrounded by her various soft and colorful toys. One was held firmly in her tight grasp of her hand as she shook and waved it around. Erwin waited for whatever Levi and Eren were clearly waiting for. 

Then Gwen started to babble. Lately, she had been more verbal, making pleased and whining noises often. But this was different. She was talking, in a way, to her toys. 

“Look at that,” Erwin said in awe. 

“She’s going to be an early talker, I know it!” Eren said proudly. 

The talking had drawn Gwen’s attention and she smiled brightly at her fathers, before continuing her babbling talk. 

 

With Gwen approaching the day she turned six months old, she and Eren took a trip to visit Ymir and Krista. Eren was eager to see his friends’ new twins, only a few weeks old. He may have also had plans to show off how big his own baby girl had grown. 

“This is Olivia and here’s Owen,” Krista introduced once they were all sitting in the living room. Ymir looked completely worn out -- Eren could imagine how hard twins were to handle, considering how busy he was with just one baby -- but Krista remained bright and cheerful despite the circles under her eyes. 

Both Olivia and Owen were tiny, smaller than Gwen had been when she was born. Eren supposed this was because of necessity, so they could both fit in Krista’s tummy. But Eren didn’t really know very much about pregnancy. 

“They’re beautiful,” Eren said, as that was what you were supposed to say when people had babies. He did think they were cute, small and scrawny as they were. But no baby could compare to how adorable his own was. 

“Thank you,” Krista replied with a smile. Ymir was too tired to say anything more than a grunt. “Would you like to hold one?” 

Though Krista’s twins were not as cute as his own baby, he couldn’t resist the urge to hold one. They were still pretty damn cute. 

“Hello Owen,” Eren greeted as he was handed the baby. Gwen was rolling around on the floor beside him. “That’s really close to Gwen,” he noted. 

Krista blushed. “Yes, we didn’t realize that until after we named him.” 

Eren brushed it off. “It’s no problem. They’re all going to be friends after all. Isn’t that right, Owen?” 

However, Gwen did not enjoy Eren holding another baby and began to complain. Eren laughed and handed Owen back to take Gwen into his arms. 

“Silly girl,” he said. “Daddy still loves you just as much.” He set Gwen in his lap and sat close to Krista, so Gwen could see the new babies. “Look Gwen! You have some new friends.” 

With wide, blinking eyes Gwen stared at Olivia and Owen. She turned her head to look confused at Eren, before looking back at the twins. Her hands reached out to touch them, but Eren pulled her back. 

“I think she likes them,” Eren said with a smile. 

Seeing Gwen with her new twin friends made Eren think about her growing up. He couldn’t wait to see her old enough to play with others. At the same time though, he almost missed the little newborn baby Gwen used to be. For the time being, Eren supposed he could only enjoy Gwen as she was now, growing big and discovering new things every day. 

It wasn’t a very hard thing to enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is Allie, that other person writing this thing. Hope the second chapter lived up to the amazingness that was the first one (Tess is awesome, right?). This is incredibly fun to write, you have no idea. I feel like I'm raising my own child here. 
> 
> Thank you guys for all the wonderful feedback! You're fabulous ^^


	3. 6 to 12 Months

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is! This is Gwen's life from six to twelve months. From this chapter on, each chapter will be a year in her life, and will end on her birthday. So there's a lot more fun stuff to come, and I'm so excited to have you guys along for the ride!
> 
> This chapter is totally dedicated to our awesome friend Seas, who kicked my (Tess's) butt into gear, talked to me about fluff for hours, gave me infinite support, and is just generally amazing and needs to be acknowledged. Plus, her Levi voice is hot. There is a castle in this chapter for you. <3 
> 
> With that said, enjoy!

For some reason, Eren had thought Gwen starting up on solid foods was going to be enjoyable, and maybe even make his life easier. He’d still have to heat up a bottle several times a day, and probably listen to her wailing impatiently every now and then when she was feeling particularly demanding, but eventually he’d have to do it a lot less. All the solid foods the pediatrician had suggested after Gwen’s recent six month checkup came in a little jar or a tube, too, and the rest they could make themselves with yogurt or applesauce or little pieces of oats (Levi liked the idea of that, apparently distrusting of any and all baby companies). All he really had to do was feed her straight from there, no real prep work required. She could sit in the high chair Armin had bought her ages ago, adorned with cute, brightly-colored fish and other ocean-dwelling creatures, and he got to watch her eating something that actually looked like it might nourish a human being.

It was a lot easier said than done, though, and apparently slow going.

“You don’t want some of this, princess? It’s yummy!” Eren glanced down at the jar, reading off the contents. “Pureed apricots! Mmm!” Eren had no idea what apricots actually tasted like, but the bright orange concoction he was staring down at it didn’t look at all appetizing. In a way, he didn’t blame her.

Gwen stubbornly turned her head, refusing to have anything to do with the spoon Eren was trying prod into her mouth, her nose scrunched as she let out distressed, frustrated noises. She could chew and swallow perfectly fine, and the pediatrician had made it clear that she’d lost whatever reflex it was that made eating solids impossible – she was above average height and weight for her age group, too, and more than ready for this.

She was just stubborn. Eren was starting to think the combination of the three of them as fathers was going to leave her doomed as she babbled at him, slamming her little hands into the tray she was restrained by. She was starting to respond when one of them talked to her, even pausing in between sounds and fully expecting them to respond back. Even Levi was enjoying having conversations he didn’t understand.

“Aw, c’mon. Just a little?” Gwen didn’t waver, making her new favorite sound instead. Eren had been blowing raspberries on her tummy since she was an infant, much to Levi’s disgust, but now she seemed to want to constantly mimic it, spit gathering on her chin in the process. When she actually managed to blow bubbles, he sometimes worried she’d forget to breathe. She giggled until she was red in the face, apparently finding herself hilarious. Levi and he joked that she’d picked up on one of Erwin’s traits there.

She actually needed to eat, though, and Eren was running out of tricks fast. He decided to try out one of Erwin’s. “What if Daddy tries it first, huh? Will you give it a try then?”

Gwen stared up at him and blew another raspberry, still banging at the tray and squirming in her high chair. Eren was taking that as a yes.

It couldn’t be that bad. If they made this stuff for babies, then it had to be edible, and it was just mashed up fruit, right? He could do fruit. It had to be better than the pureed squash (what was squash, anyway?). He dipped the Disney-princess themed spoon back into the jar, getting out enough that she could see. “Alright, here goes nothing…” He leaned in close to her, grinning. “Look, Daddy’s eating your food, Gwen!”

At first he didn’t taste much of anything, just weirdly textured mush that felt strange on his tongue. Then whatever apricots tasted like set in, and Eren coughed a little, fighting the urge to swallow and not spit it out. It felt like it stuck to his throat the whole way down, goopy and disgusting.

Gwen giggled at the funny face her Daddy was making, letting out a squeal and reaching for him with sticky fingers she’d been previously gnawing on.

“Shit, that’s nasty.” Eren left Gwen in her high chair to pour himself a glass of water, gulping it down as fast as possible. The taste lingered anyway, and he didn’t feel even slightly guilty when he threw the jar into the garbage can.

When he turned back around, Gwen was staring at him, her toothless smile looking suspiciously smug.

“Yeah, okay. You win this one, baby girl. No more pureed apricots.” He tried to look stern, but he was grinning. “But you’re still trying something else. Doctor’s orders.”

Gwen blew a celebratory raspberry, squealing in delight when Daddy picked her up.

 

Levi would like to say that Valentine’s Day wasn’t a big deal for the three of them, but they’d never actually failed to do something for it.

Before they’d had Gwen, and especially when they’d all just been trying out their arrangement, they’d done things regularly enough that Valentine’s Day was little more than an excuse to do something even more extravagant. They’d spent their first Valentine’s Day in the south of France, feeding each other cheese and sampling wine, skipping out on dinner in favor of spending more time between the sheets. The year after that, Erwin had gotten them both off work and they’d spent the weekend at some spa, getting massages and then oiling each other down in private until they’d all been a pile of loose limbs and sweat, none of them entirely sure which parts belonged to them.

Those first couple years had been spent pampering and spoiling the newest addition of their odd but fitting three-way relationship, but Levi was positive they were past that stage now. Gwen seemed to agree with him, blowing bubbles as he bounced her on his knees. Still, he knew exactly what the brat was angling for when he watched him crawl into Erwin’s lap from the corner of his eye.

He’d seen it plenty of times before. The only difference was that Eren had gotten better at it since those first clumsy attempts, his cheeks less rounded, the imploring look in those bright eyes completely deliberate. He knew exactly what to say and do to pull at both of their strings until they came apart for him, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Erwin, for his part, smiled down at the lapful of Eren he suddenly had, and Levi held in a scoff. He was too easy. “Hello,” he breathed into Eren’s hair, ghosting his lips over his forehead. “Do you need something, Eren?” he teased.

The kid knew by now to cut right to the chase. “Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day,” he announced, and then paused just long enough to let Erwin process, the predictable surprise flickering onto his features before he faded back to neutral. “And I was wondering if we were doing anything.”

Erwin was just the right amount of cautious, but Levi already knew how this was ending. He turned his attention back to Gwen, who babbled and reached out for him, not pleased with not being the center of attention for once.

“I’m sorry, Eren, I lost track of time. I’ll see what I can do, but it’s short notice. You know Levi and I are working on settling a few important things at work right now…”

Levi didn’t need to look to know what kind of face Eren was pulling, but he did hear the intake of breath that came afterwards as Erwin tried to keep himself composed. Collarbone or shoulder. Levi didn’t bother checking to see which one had been bitten, smirking as Gwen launched herself up again and bounced, giggling happily. “You’ve got a set of legs on you, huh?” he murmured to her.

“It’s just a night. It’s not like you’ll be working then. We can get Gwen a sitter, go out to that restaurant we all like, and then come back here. Have some grown up time. You liked it last time, remember?” Now Eren was just playing dirty. “Or I could just make something here. We don’t even have to leave the house, that way we can get back quick if something goes wrong. I’ll make your favorite.”

“As nice as that sounds, Eren –“

Levi barely managed to keep from rolling his eyes. Gwen reached out to pat at his cheek, then sucked on her own fist, her head tilted to the side as she watched him. “You’re losing your touch, old man.”

Erwin turned his head toward him, and when he glanced over, his guess had been exactly right. One of those thick eyebrows was raised, his lips curved at just the corner. “Am I?”

“Yep,” Eren agreed, grinning in Levi’s direction. “You’re definitely going to get someone to take care of things at work tomorrow, and we’re going to have a really nice dinner and spend the night together.”

Erwin hummed, the sound of a man resigned to picking his battles. “And who’s going to watch Gwen, then?”

“I already asked Armin and Mikasa. They’re up for it.”

Levi finally let himself snort. “Your Daddy’s a brat,” he told Gwen, ignoring the urge to smile as Eren kissed Erwin full on the mouth, then pecked his cheek before going back to whatever he’d been doing before. “I don’t know why we put up with him.”

Erwin reached out for the baby, and Levi handed her over. His smile was all wry amusement. “I think you can think of a few reasons, dear. Besides, it’s mostly the other way around.”

 

Eren hadn’t been expecting it to be like this.

Before the baby, they’d been fine. Better than fine. They didn’t even have to talk, but there was always something unspoken in whatever silence they had anyway. They were comfortable around each other. They could spend hours in the same room just coexisting, and still come out of it feeling like they’d discovered something new, something exciting, something that got Eren going more than anything else, even if it was only learning that Erwin was left-handed or Levi knew how to play piano. Every moment had been fresh even when it wasn’t, and every time either of them touched him, it felt like the first time all over again, the heat in his gut and the fire under his skin all included. He still felt that itching whenever he was in the same room as them, wanting to be with them and on them and around them, wanting them under his skin. Wanting to be under theirs.

He’d thought that would never go away, honestly.

But here they were sitting in front of the TV, watching some lame action movie that none of them cared about because they didn’t know what to say. Because every time Eren’s mind wandered, he was thinking about Gwen and what she was doing and if she’d eaten right and whether or not she missed them.

Dinner had been fine. They’d had the food to talk about, the atmosphere, and they’d been dressed up enough that they could settle for the aesthetic over anything else. They’d agreed that they weren’t going to talk about Gwen at all for the entirety of the night – it was just going to be about them, and only them. It worked out for however long they’d been there. Erwin and Levi glazed over details about work, Eren talked about how Ymir and Krista were settling down with the twins and Mikasa and Armin’s plans to travel again. They’d all talked about Hanji’s newest experiments and how they were probably a little crazy for trying it.

Then they’d come back and, apparently out of things to talk about that didn’t involve Gwen’s newfound appreciation of pureed sweet potatoes and toys that she could make noise and babble at, they’d put on a movie.

“Fuck this.” It was Levi who vocalized it first, and he squirmed out of Erwin’s grasp, shoving him when he went to grab for him again. “Let’s call He-Man Jr. and get this shit over with.”

“What are you talking about?” Erwin asked, but the way he said it made it clear that he knew exactly what he was talking about.

“Don’t play dumb. All of us are just sitting here thinking about Gwen anyway, so we might as well call her before she goes down for the night.”

Eren didn’t disagree, and he even let out a sigh of relief, but it still made him frown. “God, what’s wrong with us? We really can’t have a date without worrying about Gwen anymore?”

Erwin was the one to pull him into his arms, kissing the sensitive place where his neck met his shoulder. Eren melted. “We’re fathers now, Eren. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun after we’ve called her.”

Eren thought that was a pretty good compromise, and let Levi get up to grab one of their cellphones. None of them missed the way whatever tension had been building up in the room was immediately released the moment they heard Gwen giggling and babbling into the receiver, coaxed by Armin.

 

Gwen had started teething.

Eren didn’t blame her for being a little more finicky than usual, really, because the whole thing sounded like hell. Her little gums were starting to show the first signs of bottom teeth, but they hadn’t come through yet. She spent a good amount of her time whimpering and chewing on anything she could get near her mouth, which, if she didn’t have a toy in hand, was usually her fingers but had proven to be Eren’s face on more than one occasion. Eren froze soothers and teething rings for her as often as he could, and that seemed to help for a bit, but she was still prone to crying and reaching for him as if she expected him to stop the pain when it got to be too much.

It killed him a little that he couldn’t. All he could do was distract her, offering her different toys until she refused them and went back to crying. It was even harder convincing Erwin and Levi that it was all they could do when they came back to work, and getting them to calm down about it was about as pleasant as listening to his little girl wail and whimper.

“There has to be something we can do,” Erwin insisted one day for the millionth time, bouncing Gwen on his hip. “She’s in pain. Can’t we stop it?”

“By what, not letting her teeth grow in?” Eren rolled his eyes, irritable and frustrated. “Yeah, sure. Then she can gum at things for the rest of her life.”

“She’s in pain. It’s our job to make her feel better when she’s in pain, Eren,” Erwin said, and Eren had the sudden urge to snap at him, the decidedly patronizing note to his tone setting his own teeth on edge.

“Yeah, thanks. You don’t think I realize that? I’m doing everything I can!” He held back what he really wanted to say, physically biting his tongue with the effort. If Erwin wanted to be condescending about the way he was raising their daughter, he could try actually being home for once. 

Levi had been the voice of reason that time, reaching for Gwen. “Just go freeze up a teething ring for her, Erwin. I’ve got her.” He turned his eyes on Eren. “And you, brat, simmer down.”

Eren had grunted.

It also didn’t help that he wasn’t getting any sleep. Erwin and Levi had hit a busy point again, which meant he was taking care of Gwen most of the time when she cried during the night, which happened to be a lot lately. She was running a low grade fever. The pediatrician swore that it wasn’t anything to be worried about, just a side-effect of a painful but important process.

Eren had kind of wanted to punch him in the face, to show him another painful but important process. Gwen had seemed to agree, squirming away from his touch, her lower lip trembling every time he got closer.

It didn’t help that Levi was suddenly there every time he turned his back, taking things away from her as she wailed and insisting they weren’t clean enough for her to put into her mouth.

“For fuck’s sake, Levi!” he’d shouted at him one night when it had hit a certain point, all the heads in the room turning to stare at him. “She’s going to put everything in her mouth. I clean her toys. Just let her chew on it, I can’t listen to her cry anymore!”

Levi had stared at him, one eyebrow rising as his lips quirked. “Language,” he said.

Eren had shown him language. Erwin had let them go at it this time, taking the baby upstairs. They’d all made up later in bed (it was part of their rules, no going to bed angry, something Erwin had probably read somewhere), but Eren still didn’t sleep much.

\----

Erwin rarely got off work early. When he did, it was usually because he put Mike in charge and walked out, no long willing to deal with everything that his job demanded when there were more important things waiting on him at home. It was a rare luxury he afforded himself, but after everything he’d done for the company, he figured a few half days were acceptable. 

The one time he did, though, he had imagined Eren would be there waiting for him and Levi, which was probably about as unrealistic as it was selfish. He’d even brought food from their favorite takeout place, though.

“He’s probably out for a walk,” Levi said, shrugging as he untied his cravat and plopped himself down on the couch. “It distracts her. Besides, I think he’s getting sick of staring at these walls.” He gave Erwin a pointed look, and he knew what it was for.

Erwin sighed as he set the bags of food down on the table, ignoring Levi’s scowl at the grease soaking through them. He’d eat it anyway when his fondness for Chinese overwhelmed his need for cleanliness. “If I had the option, you know I’d have us home as much as possible,” he said, coolly. “All the time, actually.”

Levi avoided his gaze. Erwin knew it was because he felt the exact same way, and sometimes he wished they’d thought about this more before they’d gone through with it – balancing the company and their family had been asking for trouble, and they were all folding under the stress of it, whether he was willing to show it or not.

The front door eventually opened, revealing an exhausted and flustered Eren who struggled to push the stroller inside. His eyes still managed to light up the moment he realized they were both waiting for him at the door, though, and Erwin felt the pang of guilt twisting around in his stomach. “Oh, man, you guys are home already?” He paused, then grinned. “And you brought Chinese? What is it, my birthday?”

Erwin chuckled. “If we ever get you Chinese for your birthday, leave us,” he teased, and then pulled the other close, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “You look exhausted.”

Eren shrugged, his smile sheepish, like he wasn’t sporting visible dark circles under his eyes. “It’s fine. She just needs me a lot more, I get it.”

Erwin realized what was missing from the scene when he looked over at Levi, who was apparently stuck still, his eyes on the stroller that Eren had pushed through the door. He understood the need to go straight to Gwen the moment she appeared, but even he had to see how worn out and ragged Eren was, and usually there’d at least be a biting remark. He felt his eyebrows rising with the concern. “Levi?”

Levi continued to stare, but his face twitched, that dangerous mix of cold, hard anger and shock that they’d only been privy to a handful of times.

Eren blinked, but even he managed to catch onto the situation, alarmed. “Uh, Levi? You okay?”

“You idiot.”

It was a low growl, and Erwin felt himself moving forward unconsciously, ready to do whatever damage control was necessary to keep the situation from escalating.

“You fucking idiot.”

Levi’s shoulders were shaking with the first signs of panic and rage, and Eren took a step back, realizing the words were directed at him when the shorter man turned in his direction. His eyes were steely, impenetrable grey as he took a step forward, and Erwin felt himself place a hand on Levi’s shoulder that was promptly shrugged off.

“Whoa, whoa,” Eren protested, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process of raising his hands, his eyes wide, “What’s going on? I didn’t do anything!”

“Didn’t do anything?” Levi repeated. He was a force of his own when he got like this, every word spat out through his teeth. “Didn’t do anything?” Erwin watched Eren as he held his breath and waited for the worst, and felt himself preparing for the storm as well.

Whatever it was that had upset Levi, they were both about to find out.

“You shitlicking, mouth-breathing, sorry son of a bitch,” were Levi’s first words, and they waited, taking it as par for the course. “You want to know what you did? You, Eren shit-for-brains Jaeger, brought home the wrong fucking baby, you fucking moron!”

The room was dead silent for a moment. Erwin knelt down to look at the baby in the stroller.

“What?! You’re crazy! That’s Gwen!” Eren was gesturing wildly to the stroller when Erwin looked up. “Do you think I’m an idiot? Jesus Christ, Levi!”

Erwin watched Levi fume for a moment or two before he, calmly as possible, lifted the baby from the stroller and presented it to the two of them. “Eren,” he said, slowly, “When exactly did Gwen change both sex and ethnicity?”

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Levi repeated, case in point.

The baby in question babbled out words at them, shouting ‘Mama’ as he kicked his legs, his darker skin apparent now that he wasn’t shielded by the stroller’s covering. He looked a little confused to be in this situation, but reached out anyway, squealing loudly and reaching for the strangers whose house he’d ended up in. “Mama!” he echoed. “Mama, mamamama!”

Eren didn’t waste a second as he bolted out the door and made a beeline for the car. Erwin carried out what he forgot, which happened to be both the baby and the stroller, and kicked him out of the driver’s seat when he got there. There was no way he was in any fit state to drive.

Luckily, the woman was still in the park. She was in frantic, ecstatic tears the moment she set eyes on them, grabbing for the boy in the stroller and sobbing as she let out what sounded like thankful, joyful prayers in Spanish, her gaze towards the sky.

Gwen, for her part, looked up at them as Levi scooped her up into his arms, and her tear-stained cheeks were immediately dimpled as she beamed. “Da!” she shrieked. She reached for Levi’s hair, trying to put it into her mouth like she always did. None of them were entirely sure whether she’d just said her first word or not, but she babbled at them as she stuffed her fist in her mouth, not at all deterred by the muffled way she sounded.

She quieted down as they brought her to the car, apparently capable of catching on to the mood. Levi sat her on his lap instead of the car seat, something Erwin didn’t bother to protest against because he didn’t seem capable of letting go of her. He drove slowly, not even approaching the speed limit, mostly to give them all time to calm down. 

Erwin knew there needed to be a talk when they got back to the house, but now wasn’t the time for it. Levi had Gwen clutched tightly to his chest, his face in her growing blonde curls, her head cradled into his shoulder. She was drooling on him and he wasn’t even making the slightest protest. Eren, for his part, hadn’t said a word since they’d left for the park. The blank, dead look on his face was a giveaway of exactly how he was feeling, though, even as he tried to hide it. He hadn't ever quite mastered that skill. 

“Go to bed.” It was Levi to say it, his voice slightly muffled by Gwen, but still firm.

“But –“

“Go to bed,” Levi repeated, harder this time. “We can talk about it when you’re up.”

When Eren looked over at him, searching for something, Erwin only nodded.

Eren slept for thirteen and a half hours. 

 

There had been a need for meetings like this before, but Eren couldn’t honestly remember the last one. It had been a long time ago, whenever it was. Their relationship wasn’t conventional and hadn’t ever been, and it had been Erwin who had made it clear that if this was going to work, they were going to need to talk and talk often. When Eren had doubted why the two of them would ever choose to keep him around, why they would bother with some kid they’d picked up out of nowhere, they’d talked. When Levi got cold and distant and pulled away from the two of them, they talked. When Erwin worked hours longer than any human being should, when he spent more time with his laptop than with them, they talked.

And they were talking now, except no one seemed to be actually talking.

Gwen was on Levi’s lap. He was obviously much more interested in cradling her against his chest than he was in any sort of conversation, though he occasionally bounced her when she wriggled in protest, confused and frustrated with being contained the way she was. She was getting the hang of rolling over with the intention of actually getting somewhere, and could scoot a few inches if she really put her mind to it, but even then she seemed to go backwards more than forwards. What really mattered, though, was that she hated the idea of being held still. Putting her in the highchair for mealtimes was a royal pain in the ass, and she lost patience at being contained to her jumper about as soon as she’d been placed into it. Eren had to constantly supervise, and while he usually loved watching her play and pushing her toys back to her when she let them get too far out of her grip, it was exhausting. 

All of it was exhausting. 

It was easier to think about Gwen than it was to think about the actual issue here. Eren thought they were all a little guilty of that. 

“She doesn’t like to be held like that,” Eren mumbled, his arms crossed over his chest, his legs pulled in defensively. Erwin shot him a look, that quirk of the eyebrow, but he ignored it and pressed on. “You’ll make her fussy and then she won’t want to settle down for a nap later, Levi.”

Levi didn’t glare at him. He didn’t even look at him. His face was the stony kind of composed that always set chills up Eren’s spine, the kind of composed that meant he was anything but. “Well, thanks to your incompetence,” the words were slowly drawn out, completely even, “I almost lost the chance to hold her at all.” He was already sitting as far away as their impractically large couch would allow (they always anticipated guests), but when his back was impossibly straight like that, when his shoulders were tensed and angled in the opposite direction, he seemed even farther.

Eren swallowed. “I didn’t mean to. They had the same stroller, what was I supposed to think? She was right next to us, we were sitting on the same bench, I’d just put her into hers and…”

“And what? You didn’t even bother to look down at your own child? For fuck’s sake, Eren.”

“I’m fucking exhausted, Levi! I can barely see a couple feet in front of me without everything blurring! I had the headache of the century, all those kids were screaming, and I just didn’t think!”

“Well that’s a fucking surprise, isn’t it?” 

Erwin was rubbing at his face when Eren looked over at him for help, the dark circles under his eyes seeming darker as he massaged at his temples. “There’s obviously a problem here,” he said, all thinly veiled patience and diplomacy. “Are we going to talk about this like adults or continue to act like children? As cute as the second option is, I’m growing tired of it.”

It was the way Erwin said it, completely calm but utterly demanding of their attention and obedience, that usually made Eren shiver. It was why they called him Commander. Now it only made his skin feel stretched in a way that was entirely uncomfortable, made something burst inside of him. The fact that Levi still refused to look at either of them only made it worse.

“You want me to act like an adult? Fine!” Childish start or not, it didn’t stop him from barreling on, his voice raising with every word he spoke. “I’m tired, alright? I’m exhausted, I’m worn out, and I have no fu –“ His eyes fell on Gwen, and he took a deep, slow breath, letting it out through his nose in an angry huff. “I’ve got no idea what I’m doing half the time. She’s been in pain, she cries all day, she cries all night, and you two are so busy with work you don’t even think about it. I get it, whatever, you have to get up early so I take care of so you’re not exhausted, but do you ever think about me? It’s not like I’m just sitting at home on my – on my butt!” Eren huffed for emphasis, because he’d never considered exactly how weak that noun was when compared to ass. “You come home and play with her when she’s all changed and you feed her and think it’s cute when she gets it all over, but you’re not the ones cleaning it all day, or the ones who have to watch her every second so she doesn’t roll over onto something that could hurt her, or make sure she gets the right amount of sleep, or reach over and grab things for her when they get out of her reach _all goddamn day_.” By the end of it, Eren found himself almost trembling, which was just as embarrassing as it was irritating. “You want me to be an adult? You want me to be honest? I love Gwen to death, literally to death, you know I’d die for her, but Jesus fucking Christ, if I have to stare at these walls for one more day, if I have to think about all the things I’m screwing up, if I have to listen to her wail when I know there’s nothing I can do about it, I’m going to lose my mind or whatever’s left of it and you’re going to come home and the last thing you’re going to have to worry about are the stains on the wall!”

Erwin was staring at him. Eren was shaking, fuming, bottled up frustration, his eyes wild like they were when he hit his breaking point. He was a wild thing in times like this, uncontrollable and unpredictable, lashing out and defending himself, because there was no one else to do it. Because suddenly he was the kid in high school again who couldn’t think of any other way to get out the nasty, frightening thoughts in his own head besides with his fist, with his teeth, with his instinct.

And then Erwin got to his feet, crossed the small amount of space between the reclining chair and the couch, and knelt in front of him.

Eren’s breath hitched. His shoulders tensed, and then relaxed. He let himself be tamed.

Erwin’s fingers were suddenly in his, bringing his hand to his lips to kiss at each of his knuckles. “How long have you been feeling like this, Eren?” he asked, and though it was gentle, when Eren looked down, he knew there wasn’t any way he could avoid answering. It wasn’t optional.

“A while,” he admitted.

Levi snorted, and it sounded much closer than it should be. When he turned his head just slightly, he realized the other man was there, and he couldn’t remember when he’d moved. “You’re a dumbass,” he said, but the hardness wasn’t there anymore. 

“Yeah, I am,” Eren agreed, his shoulders tense again, even as Erwin kissed the tension out of his other hand, the reverence there making his heart beat out of his chest, because he probably didn’t deserve it. “That’s kind of the point, right? I’m serious, Levi, I don’t know what I’m doing. Half the time I’m guessing, the other time I’m Googling it, and that’s got to be wrong, right? Like, the other day she spit peas all over the place and starting coughing and I almost had a heart attack. I was seriously two seconds from calling 911, and then she started giggling at me and making spitting noises.” 

Erwin’s face was pressed into his knees, and Eren could feel him shaking with barely suppressed laughter. He tried to feel indignant about it, but he really couldn’t. 

“Why do you think we’re any better at this, brat?” Something in Levi’s voice had changed, and Eren couldn’t look at him. It was softer now, quieter, and then there was a hand on his shoulder. Gwen babbled from his lap, apparently tired of trying to bite at Levi’s cheek. “We’re not. You know we aren’t. I think I’d rather eat out my own ass than change one of her diapers again. Half the time I don’t know what to do when I’ve got her in my arms, because she’s tiny and breakable and I’m shit at that, you know I am. Then there’s Erwin over here who wouldn’t know functional and loving father figure if it slapped him over the head, so he’s just as useless as we are half the time. Together we’ve got enough emotional baggage and family experience to maybe raise one kid to not be a complete fuck up.” 

Erwin looked up to regard Levi with a cool look, but said nothing. Eren felt something bubbling up in his chest, and realized it was laughter when it burst out in loud, uncontrolled peals, drawing Gwen’s attention as she laughed herself, amused by her Daddy’s amusement. He giggled until he snorted and realized the two of them were staring when he was done, but his shoulders were still shaking, and he found himself bent over, his head resting on Erwin’s. “I’m sorry,” he managed, another giggle breaking out, higher than it should be. “It’s just – well, first of all, I really hope Gwen doesn’t pick up half the things you just said, and second… God, you’re probably right.” 

Levi grunted, bouncing Gwen on his knees so she’d settle down. She’d started to get annoyed at being stuck in one place, pulling at Levi’s shirt and squawking angrily. “Great, I’m glad we all agree we’ve got enough combined daddy issues to film a really filthy porno, but that’s not the point.” 

Erwin chuckled, taking Eren’s hands in his again to draw his attention back. “We made some changes while you were sleeping. I won’t be able to be home nearly as much as I should be, still, but I’ll have more free time – I’ve made arrangements to do more of my work from home, and we’ve found a replacement for Levi for a good portion of the week. He’ll be here during the days with you as much as he possibly can be.” 

Eren looked at Levi, and Levi looked back, but his face didn’t give anything away. When he shrugged, his face was still perfectly impassive, but Eren couldn’t miss the way the corners of his lips were pulled up. “You know what pissed me off the most, brat? You not telling us you were feeling like this. I thought we taught you to use your words.”

Eren ducked his dead, grinning as Erwin got to his feet and scooted onto the couch next to him, running a hand over his thigh in soothing, slow circles. 

Levi leaned into his ear to whisper, low and sultry. “But if you ever lose my child again, I will cut your balls off and feed them to you. Understood?” 

 

Late March meant Eren’s birthday. 

They went out to dinner the weekend before, just a small gathering, leaving Gwen with Erwin’s parents. The pediatrician had warned them that she might start becoming upset when she was separated from them, and he was right – every time one of them left the room, she was tearing up and screeching, her little hands outstretched as if she could somehow pull them back to her, her face bright red as if she knew what effect it had on them. This time hadn’t been any different, and all three of them had been drained in the time it took to distract Gwen long enough for her not to notice that her fathers had slipped out the door, dressed semi-casually for the restaurant they had reservations at. “Dada, dada,” she’d been babbling as they shut the door behind them. None of them knew if she had any idea that it was supposed to be applied to them, or at least a good two thirds, but they liked to believe it did anyway. 

It always killed them a little to think that she’d started crying again the moment she realized what had happened, but none of them were especially willing to dwell on it.

Although Armin and Mikasa still came by as often as they could, their visits had gotten less frequent since Levi had started working significantly less hours. They had their own jobs and their own lives, were full times students besides that, and Eren knew it, but it didn’t stop him from missing them. When both of their arms had wrapped around him the moment he’d walked into the restaurant, he realized exactly how much. 

Mikasa pulled back to stare at him, as if inspecting him for any sort of damage. He was guessing it was mostly habit at this point. “You smell like vomit,” she pointed out. 

“Didn’t have time to take a shower,” he returned, that sheepish grin on his lips, and they pulled him close again, apparently not minding. Erwin and Levi watched from a distance, letting them have their moment.

They’d always made it clear to each other that if any of them needed it, taking time to be on their own was important. Eren would spend time off at Armin and Mikasa's before they’d had Gwen, arguments or not, just to get out of the house while the two of them were working or tensions were rising particularly high. It didn’t mean he didn’t want to be with them, just that he needed Armin and Mikasa, too – they were his family, and abandoning him wasn’t something he was ever going to be comfortable with. It was different when he had a child, though, when he had this sort of responsibility, but it was probably somewhere between realizing that the walls of their home were starting to feel like they were trapping him in and that he was taking Gwen to the park more frequently just to be outside of them that he’d started to feel like maybe it wasn’t different at all. 

Apparently Erwin and Levi had noticed.

He was staring down at plane tickets, but he couldn’t quite fathom why. The dinner was over, his cheeks were pleasantly flushed with wine, and he could still hear laughter from every part of the table as his friends teased and taunted and talked with him. They’d gotten back about an hour ago, and after a particularly nice make out session on the couch, Erwin had pulled away and announced that it was time to give him his presents. 

Plural.

“These are plane tickets to Greece,” he pointed out. “Roundtrip. For a week.”

“Good job, Sherlock,” Levi drawled. “Would you like to deduce something else for us?”

“There’s three of them.” He held up the sheets of paper as if Erwin and Levi didn’t already know. “We’re going to Greece for a week?” He tried to stamp down the excitement bubbling up in his belly, but it wouldn’t go down. He hadn’t been anywhere outside of the town they’d settled in for ages. 

Erwin smiled, leaning down to kiss at his ear, then tug it between his teeth in the way that always made Eren shiver. “No. You’re going to Greece for a week, and you’re taking your friends. You need a bit of a break, and here it is.” 

Eren’s heart ached with something, and he had enough experience with this to know exactly what it was. Levi’s lap was the closest, so it was Levi’s lap that he jumped into, lips and tongue and teeth marking up flesh as he showed them exactly how grateful he was, Erwin’s body covering the both of them as they moved together. 

Levi was the one to break away, shoving Eren gently, but firmly enough to have him rolling off the couch and out of his lap. “Oi, slow it down, you horny fuck. We haven’t given you your other present yet.”

The other present was parked outside in the driveway, and Eren wasn’t entirely sure how he’d missed it there, but he realized that it was probably the point. There was a big green bow on the top of what looked like a very expensive car, not that he knew anything about them, and it looked big enough to drive around a family of ten. It was a sensible dark blue, glimmered in the moonlight, and definitely looked like it could be driven to someone’s soccer practice without making everyone’s head turn, but would still have everyone noticing that the Smiths were well-off. 

Erwin’s pride was too big for anything else. 

“Because you said you were uncomfortable taking the sports car to her doctor appointments,” Erwin explained, his arms around his waist. He nudged him forward. “Take a closer look.”

The seats weren’t real leather like in the other car, which was nice because they were a bitch to clean. They heated up, though, moved every which way, and fit perfectly to whoever happened to be sitting in them. The radio was fully equipped and looked like it could probably make the entire thing bounce if you cranked it loud enough, there was a phone charger, and the car seat had already been set up in the back. 

Levi was the one to show him the special addition, leading him to the back of the car by the hand. “Look at the license plate,” he whispered, making Eren shiver. “We customized it, just for you, brat.” 

He decided aroused and grateful weren’t the only things he was feeling when he read the plate in question. ‘ERENMOMBUS’ stared back at him.

“I hate you,” he stated, glaring behind him. Erwin was hiding his reaction, but Eren could see the way his eyes were crinkling with concealed laughter. “Both of you.”

“No, you don’t,” Levi murmured, and then grabbed him around the waist, pulling him into a forceful, slow kiss. Erwin’s lips joined them not too long after, and they passed him between the two of them, standing out in the moonlight in their driveway.

He really didn’t. 

 

It was nearly mid-April, and Gwen still hadn’t quite got the hang of the whole crawling thing yet. She was rolling over both ways like a pro, sitting up by herself, could scoot about as far as it took for her to get frustrated by the ineffectiveness of the movement, and knew exactly where she wanted to go – when a toy rolled out of her reach, she was grabbing for it, shoving herself forward, just without full movement of her legs. Usually she’d end up rolling back and forth until she got somewhere, but she was clearly unimpressed by this. 

Levi had never been the most encouraging person, but he made an effort, especially when Eren was taking a nap like he was at the moment. Gwen was on her belly on her play mat, and it seemed like as good a time as any. 

“C’mon, Gwen,” he urged, jangling the colorful keys in his hand. “You want the keys, right? You love to put these things in your mouth. Gotta work for it, kid.” 

Gwen scrunched up her little nose, babbling loudly at him as she tried to move herself. She’d managed to get one of her chubby legs out of the way, enough to get herself halfway to her knees, but the other one was apparently stuck underneath her and she didn’t look at all pleased by it. “Da!” she screamed, at the top of her impressive lungs. “Da! Da! Da!” 

Levi was starting to wonder if this was some kind of cruelty, but he shook his head, shaking the keys again. “That’s right, Gwen, I’m Dad. You want Dad and the keys, right? I know you can do this. Just a little more.” 

Gwen lunged forward but didn’t make it anywhere, falling to the side. Her chubby cheeks puffed out and she let out a stubborn cry as she tried to right herself. Levi gave her a bit of a nudge to help her along, apparently not completely heartless. 

“Dada,” she said, flapping her arms about like she thought maybe the next thing she should attempt was flying. “Dada!” 

She managed to get a bit farther this time, though not by much. Levi couldn’t help but snort when she managed to face plant herself into the pillows he’d set up in her path. She rolled over onto her back and kicked her legs hard, squealing and giggling, and then she was fighting to get herself back on her tummy. Levi thought she might go for the keys again, the ones he was still holding out for her, but she decided she was much more interested in the toy car not too far from her. He was pretty sure they were meant to be rolled around, but she attempted to shove the entire thing into her mouth instead, her mouth open wide enough to show off her newly-formed front teeth. 

He let her go at it, deciding she’d had enough practice for the moment. Besides, the keys weren’t really worth the effort, and they were covered in slobber. He needed to clean them. 

When the doorbell rang, Levi scooped her up in his arms to answer it, and she clutched tightly and babbled to her toy platypus. The thing looked ratty and disgusting already – Hanji had bought it for when she was first born, and for some reason she’d attached to it. She’d cry if it wasn’t in the room with her. 

Levi figured it made sense. Instead of some normal animal, she’d made friends with that monstrosity. 

His mind was on what they were having for dinner later and whether or not Gwen would be up to eating mashed vegetables. He wasn’t expecting what was behind the door, and when he swung it open, he froze.

Annie was standing on their front porch, drenched to the bone from the rain outside, her hair not done up as he was used to seeing her. He’d never seen her hair down, but it was long and made it at least halfway down her back, curled at just the ends and at her bangs. It was the same color Gwen’s was now that she’d actually grown some, though hers were coming in curly and thick, little ringlets already getting in the way of her playing. 

She looked haggard, put out and absolutely exhausted. It was the bruise on her face that attracted his attention, though, large and purpling, covering most of her sharp cheekbones. Her long nose was bent in a way it shouldn’t be. He instinctively scanned her body for any other injuries, and let himself relax when he couldn’t find any. There was no sign of blood anywhere. 

“I have nowhere to go,” she said, bluntly. Levi noticed that she refused to look at Gwen, who reached out her hands and babbled, obviously wanting to know who the stranger was. 

And wasn’t that just funny. 

“Bullshit,” Levi said, not caring for once that he’d said it in front of Gwen. “You’ve got here. Get inside, it’s cold.” 

 

Erwin came home to both of his spouses and Annie sitting on the couch, a good few inches apart from each other and the TV playing the tinny, joyful music of whatever children’s TV show they’d been watching with Gwen earlier. He assumed Gwen was down for a nap, because she was nowhere in sight and also wasn’t demanding their attention, but all of her toys were still all over the floor, something Levi wouldn’t allow under normal circumstances. 

Erwin shed his coat and came to join them, settling into the chair across from them and crossing his legs as he waited for an explanation, perfectly calm. 

“Annie’s staying with us for a while,” Levi said, and it was clear he’d already made the decision for the three of them. Erwin wasn’t going to dissuade him, even without knowing the reason – if it was enough to get this sort of reaction, it was enough for him. When he glanced out of the corner of his eye, Eren was nodding in agreement. “For a month or two, maybe, until she gets her shit together.” 

That was all that was said, and then they all turned their heads toward the TV, pretending to watch whatever was still playing. Erwin didn’t understand why the colorful bear-like creatures had televisions in their stomachs. It seemed a bit strange, and maybe misleading to children. How could they watch if they were a part of them, anyway? What was the real purpose? 

“I don’t want her to know.” It was Annie’s voice, whispered but firm. When Erwin checked, she was still staring at the TV, her expression as stoic as ever. “I don’t care what you have to tell her. I don’t want her to know I’m the mother.” She took a deep breath. “This doesn’t change anything.” 

They all simply nodded, watching the vacuum cleaner on screen chase the colorful creatures around until Gwen began to cry, wailing to make her presence known. 

Erwin didn’t miss that when he went to get her from her nap, Annie chose to lock herself in the guest bedroom they’d given her, completely unwilling to have anything to do with it. 

 

They’d made it clear to Annie within the first week that swearing was absolutely not allowed around Gwen, but it was difficult when one of them still had issues with it.

Levi thought the whole thing was mildly ridiculous, because the most Gwen could say at the moment were strings of nonsense, ‘dada’, and occasionally ‘baba’, when she was motivated enough and somehow hadn’t been handed the damn thing the moment she might be getting hungry. Still, they probably had a point. He’d grown up on the streets, had been cursing like a sailor by the time he was getting close to his pre-teens, and if he wanted his daughter to not act like a street-dwelling thug, he probably needed to start early. It was easier said than done.

About two weeks after Annie moved in with them, Erwin brought an oblong, obnoxiously green jar home from work, large enough to hold what looked an infinite amount of whatever it was for. He set it firmly on the kitchen counter, nodded to it, and crossed his arms.

Levi raised an eyebrow. “I’m supposed to know what the fuck you’re trying to tell me with this, aren’t I?”

That wicked smile curved up Erwin’s lips, glinting in his eyes as he nodded. “Exactly,” he said.

When he turned the thing around, there was an impeccably neat label. Apparently it was a ‘Swear Jar’.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” 

Erwin shook his head, smirking. “Unfortunately not. Anytime you swear, you put in a dollar. Creative swears, two. The same rules apply to the rest of us, of course, but I have a feeling we’re not going to be putting most of our pocket change into the jar like you are.”

Levi scowled. “I’m not going to put any money in that thing.”

Erwin shrugged one shoulder, obviously not believing a word of it, and went into the living room to collect Gwen and go through his daily ritual.

Levi didn’t have any cash on hand by the end of the week.

 

Eren went off to Greece the last week of April, but not without a good amount of prodding. At the airport he kissed Erwin and Levi goodbye about twenty times each, drawing looks from the people around them, but the real issue was saying goodbye to Gwen and they both knew it. She wasn’t paying much attention to him, stuffing her platypus into her mouth and sucking on it – his name was Percy, apparently, and none of them were entirely sure who had come up with it or when they’d started referring to it as that – but he kissed her over and over anyway, trying to draw her attention back. “Hey, Gwen. Princess Gwen, hey,” he kept saying, running his hands through the soft, stubborn curls on top of her head. “Look at Daddy, okay? He’s gonna go away for a while, but he wants you to know how much he loves you!” 

“Da,” Gwen had finally acknowledged, letting her platypus drop to the ground as she spread out her short arms, her fists opening and closing as she reached for Eren. The next words out of her mouth were unintelligible, a string of vowels and consonants, but Eren smiled anyway as he leaned down to pick up her toy. She squealed in delight, giving him a crooked, mostly toothless smile, and hit him with the thing in gratitude. 

“That’s right, baby girl, I’m Daddy, and I’m going bye bye for a while,” he told her, and Erwin didn’t miss the way the green of his eyes was getting glassy. “You have to be extra good for Dad and Papa when I’m gone, okay?”

Gwen blew a raspberry at him as she flailed her little body in Erwin’s arms and she whipped Percy back and forth. Erwin chuckled, giving her a bounce. “Can you wave bye bye to Daddy, Gwen? Can you be a smart little girl?” 

Chewing on Percy’s furry head, Gwen raised one of her hands, opening it and closing it. Eren absolutely glowed, and instead of saying goodbye like he was meant to, he kissed all over her again.

Mikasa was the one to clear her throat behind them, stepping forward and setting one hand on Eren’s shoulder. “We’ll miss our plane, Eren,” she told him, her voice soft. Armin nodded in the background, biting on the inside of his cheek. “We’ll call Gwen as soon as we can.”

Eren nodded, but still didn’t tear himself away, not until Levi scoffed and gave him a firm shove. Even then he looked over his shoulder all the way to the gate, and he couldn’t help feeling like he was leaving the majority of himself behind. 

When Gwen realized what had happened and noted that her Daddy was no long in sight, she opened her surprisingly wide mouth and screeched, wailed, and sobbed. Levi dangled colorful, interesting things in her face the whole ride home, taking the backseat, but even then she refused to settle down. She cried herself exhausted, and Levi eventually got her to focus long enough on a game of Peekaboo.

Neither of them told Eren about that part. 

 

Greece was beautiful, just like Eren remembered it being. And it was exactly how it used to be, with Armin and Mikasa there – just the three of them, exploring together, taking everything one day at a time. Armin had them on a schedule for the first couple days, making sure he packed everything even mildly historical in, and Eren didn’t mind it. It was kind of awesome to see the ancient Greek ruins, even if history wasn’t really his thing. Besides, if Armin thought it was cool, it was definitely worth at least a look.

But it wasn’t what he found himself enjoying the most. 

“Oh, man. I hope I can take Gwen to see this one day,” he’d remarked about one of the old, crumbling buildings, climbing to the top and grinning at the thought of him holding her up there.

“Hey, do you think Gwen’ll like Greek food when she’s older? Erwin’s way into the wine because he’s a huge snob, and I know Levi hates olives, but she’ll probably like it, right? Olive oil’s great.” They’d been out to eat during that one, somewhere outside of Athens. 

“Hey, do you think we should tell Gwen Greek mythology stories? I mean, that’s good, right? Making sure she knows all about different stuff before she goes to school? I kinda like them. Zeus was a dick, though.” That one happened while they were in the Pantheon.

Mikasa had been quietly amused by all of it, smirking when he couldn’t see, but it was Armin who eventually burst out into laughter. When Eren stared, he giggled, red in the face. “Eren, no offense, but you’re such… Everything you do is about Gwen, and…” He hid his face behind his hand, smiling. “I just didn’t think you’d ever get like that. I worried. I’m really happy for you. You’re actually really responsible, and every time you talk about her, you just get this look on your face. It’s like you’re the happiest person in the world.” 

Eren had blushed and mumbled something about getting to the next place they needed to be. 

 

Erwin was playing with Gwen when Eren got back in the first week of May, carrying heavier suitcases than he’d gone off with and a couple smuggled Greek olives in a plastic bag. Armin and Mikasa had driven him this time. They came in with him, wanted to spend some time with Gwen, and Levi was making dinner for all of them (which was a bad thing for Eren, but he wasn’t about to say it). 

Gwen looked up when she heard someone else coming into the living room, Eren having already dumped his luggage somewhere, and then her blue eyes went bright and wide. A loud, high-pitched screech left her lips. She bounced where she was sitting, nearly tipping herself over, and threw the block she was holding (and trying to gnaw at, previously) clear across the room. It collided with the wall, and Erwin heard the, “Shit, what was that?” from the kitchen, but didn’t call back an answer. 

And then she was getting onto her hands and knees, squealing and babbling loudly as she crawled towards Eren. 

For a moment, Erwin couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Gwen had been trying her very hardest, but for some reason, she still couldn’t get both of her legs underneath her in order to crawl. She’d taken to scooting like a champ, getting much farther than he’d thought she could, and when she was near something she could grab a hold of, she’d even taken to trying to pull herself up. Levi and him had been encouraging it, taking her hands and leading her, making sure she didn’t fall down too hard.

But now she was crawling with clear intention, earnest, determined noises leaving her as she sped across the floor and made a beeline for her Daddy. 

Eren seemed speechless for a moment, stuck in the doorway, but when she was at his feet, he scooped her up and whooped in excitement, something vaguely childish about it. It made Erwin smile, watching as he bounced her on his hip, held her over his head. 

“Hi, baby girl! Hi! Did you miss me? Huh? You missed me, didn’t you? Were Dad and Papa mean? Yeah?” 

Levi peeked in from the kitchen, grunting. Erwin wondered how much he’d seen, but he didn’t have to for long. “Really? Do you know how long I’ve been taking toys from her and trying to get her to crawl for them? She bit me yesterday. I’ve got fucking battle scars.” 

“Swear jar,” Erwin said. Levi raised his hand to flip him off, making a show of doing it where Gwen couldn’t see the gesture. 

Eren grinned. Armin sighed even though he was smiling, running a hand through Gwen’s curls and laughing when she turned her attention to him for a moment, reaching out and jabbering. “He’s not going to let this go,” he told everyone in the room, who was already well aware of it. “He’s still going to be mentioning it when she’s in high school.”

“And then when she gets married,” Mikasa added, but no one missed the small smile on her lips, either. “’Do you know, when you first learned to crawl, it was because of me’?” 

“Shut up,” Eren mumbled, but there was no real heat or embarrassment. The grin split his face, made him look younger than he was, but it was something Erwin admired about him. 

He couldn’t help getting up from the floor to wrap an arm around him, kissing the side of his lips in greeting. “Welcome home,” he said.

Levi was beside them in no time, yanking Eren down so he could kiss at his cheek. “Yeah. Welcome home, brat. Feeling better?” 

Eren’s smile had the sun in it. “Yeah. Definitely. It’s good to be home.” He hesitated, biting his lip. “Honestly, I kind of wanted to come back after the first day.” He looked at Armin and Mikasa, sheepish. “No offense, guys.”

“None taken,” Armin said, at the same time that Mikasa shook her head. 

Gwen tugged on his hair, then clapped one of her hands over her own mouth, making little noises that got progressively louder as she smacked at her lips. Eren raised an eyebrow. 

Levi snorted. “Hanji taught her that. It’s new. Let’s go eat, brats.” He looked down at Gwen, who was still showing off her new trick, and now being cooed at by people who hadn’t seen it yet. She practically glowed with pride, and when Armin told her ‘you’re so smart, Gwen!’ she clapped her little hands together, apparently agreeing. He smirked. “That means you too, kid. What a little attention seeker we’ve got.”

“You’re a bigger star than any of those girls on _Toddlers and Tiaras_ , princess,” Eren declared, kissing the top of her head.

Erwin chuckled at the scowl all over Levi’s face, the way his lips curled in displeasure, his left eye twitching. “You know, brat, I really didn’t want you to have to spend your first night back on the couch.”

 

No one missed the fact that Annie wasn’t ever around. 

It wasn’t like Levi was about to judge it. The whole thing was weird, and she spent most of her time out of the house, trying to get herself a job or whatever else it was she was doing to try and get out of their house, which wasn’t something for him to complain about. When he found her in the kitchen at three in the morning because he couldn’t sleep and had decided to check up on Gwen (he found himself doing that more and more, now that the exhaustion from work wasn’t around as much to lull him to sleep), she got out in a hurry, like he’d set the damn place on fire. They’d stopped inviting her to meals after the first week. She’d just shake her head. 

The bruise on her cheek was healing. He hadn’t asked. It wasn’t his place, and everyone needed some space to figure out their own demons. No one else seemed to get that – he’d warned the brat, though, made sure he understood. 

Said brat was in the shower, though, and Gwen was on the move, bored with the blocks he’d given her to play with. She didn’t actually stack them, yet, though she could appreciate it when one of them did, just sort of banged them together and occasionally threw them when she felt like it. Now she’d decided that she’d much rather attempt to climb up onto the couch, her chubby legs wobbling as she fought to keep herself upright. 

“It’s called cruising,” Erwin had told all of them, that proud smile on his face. His ego got plenty of secondhand boosting from Gwen, not that anyone was surprised. “It’s a precursor to walking.”

Whatever it was, she wasn’t very good at it yet. She could get a few steps in the direction she wanted to go, and then she was flat on her butt. The first few times, she’d cried, and the first time, Levi had to try not to laugh, which he knew was awful – she’d toppled over and fallen, and then her little nose had scrunched up in confusion, her eyes wide, before she let out a loud wail and wiggled herself about, obviously not in any real pain. She hadn’t calmed until he’d given her toys to play with and made stupid noises at her.

She was a drama queen and a half. Must get it from Erwin. 

The absolute worst thing to do, though, as all of them had learned, was try to contain her now that she’d finally figured out the whole mobility thing. 

She could handle a few minutes in the highchair as long as she had food to stuff into her mouth (they gave her little bits and pieces of things now and let her go at it), and if they were especially lucky, she’d tolerate the playpen until she figured out she couldn’t get out of it. Being told she couldn’t go somewhere – up the stairs, down the stairs, into rooms on her own, under the glass table, on top of the glass table – made her viciously cross, and she wasn’t afraid to let all of them know it. 

Right now she’d managed to get herself from the edge of the couch to the table, and her eyes were on the disgustingly expensive vase Erwin’s parents had bought them a while ago. Her cheeks puffed out like they always did when she was set on something and she made insistent, fiercely determined noises.

“Alright, kid,” he said, laughing when she turned her head toward him, then swiveled it back toward the vase, as if debating which she wanted more, “As much as I don’t mind if you smash that thing, today’s not the day for that.” 

He scooped her up, let her wriggle and cry in protest like he knew she would, and handed her Percy, who she happily took and sucked on. He tried not to be too disgusted. 

Annie’s room was the spare room off of the far left of the house. Nothing was over there, and it had its own bathroom and living room. It was where they put Erwin’s parents on visits, not only because it gave them the privacy and separation they preferred, because then they didn’t have to deal with them as much. With Annie, it was a matter of being courteous. Right now, though, times were desperate, and he knocked on the door, a wiggling Gwen in his arms. She’d gotten bored with Percy and was tugging on his hair, which was overgrown by this point. 

Annie took a while to answer the door, and when she did, she looked worse for wear. The bags under her eyes could rival his own. The sweatshirt she was wearing absolutely drowned her, coming down past her knees. He raised the baby in greeting, who squealed in delight and clapped, then raised her arms.

“I need to take a dump,” he announced. “So you’re going to watch Gwen for a couple minutes. All you need to do is make sure she doesn’t fall over onto something hard or put something tiny in her mouth.” 

He didn’t give her time to say no, kissing Gwen’s curls and handing her over. Levi had a feeling she needed this, and maybe a little more than that, he needed to take a shit without Gwen screaming in protest and attempting to follow. 

When he came back, he found Annie stuck still on the bed they’d given her, Gwen in her lap, attempting to climb her and investigating the bun on top of her head. When Levi walked into the room, she turned her head to screech at him and tried to scramble towards him, but she fell face first instead.

Annie caught her. Levi watched her suck in a breath and knew he’d been right, so he waited, part of him still watching Gwen as she squirmed and twisted, only at the beginning of the cycle – right now, she was still just confused and momentarily charmed by being trapped in someone’s arms. 

And he watched as Annie held her tight to her chest before realizing herself. He watched as her eyes got glassy, the same marble blue that Gwen had, and as her jaw tightened, her body tensing. Instinct. 

“She’s not mine,” Annie said, and he heard the hitch in her voice despite the coldness there. Her eyes were on Gwen, but she ripped them away when Gwen looked up at her, babbling and attempting conversation. 

“No, she’s not.” Levi shrugged, calm as he gathered Gwen up in his arms. She’d started getting fussy again, and it was probably time for her nap. “But it’s not a world of black and white, kid. Just because you’re not her mother doesn’t mean you can’t be something. She’s already got three dads and a shit ton of – damn it,” Levi interrupted himself, scowling, because he didn’t even think he had a dollar on him, and Gwen giggled at the funny look on his face, patting at his cheeks, “Aunts and uncles and somewhere-betweens that we’re not even related to and she’s definitely not, so who cares? Takes a village to raise a child, or something.”

“I can’t be part of the village,” Annie said, but her eyes were still on Gwen. They followed every movement she made. 

Levi shrugged again. “That’s up to you.”

 

Annie showed up for dinner a few days later. No one said anything, but Eren grinned at her as he set another place at the table, scooping out the stew he’d made, his mom’s recipe, he told her, and advising her on using some salt because he’d gone a little light this time.

She picked up Gwen’s bottle when she threw it. She picked up Percy when Gwen threw him, too. And then she picked them all up again when, realizing that she had someone new to play the game with, Gwen threw them with new vigor. 

Erwin shook his head, taking a bite of stew. “She never gets tired of that game, Annie. I would be careful.”

Annie’s gaze wandered from Gwen to the table, stone-faced as ever when she faced them. “I think she’s getting my nose.” And then, completely deadpan, “I’m sorry.” 

Eren was the first one to burst into laughter, and Levi had to pat his back so he didn’t choke himself on his food. 

While Erwin washed the dishes and Eren got Gwen cleaned up, Levi caught Annie on the way back to her room. “Welcome to the village,” he said. 

Annie’s lips twitched.

 

Erwin didn’t think he would ever be perplexed by a children’s book, especially not one with colorful pictures.

“Eren?” he called out, seeing as he was the closest one to him, his body draped over the couch as he played with his phone. 

Eren’s head whipped in his direction. “Yeah?”

“Do you happen to know what sounds giraffes make?” 

That seemed to stump Eren, too. “Uh… They eat grass?”

Erwin chuckled, rearranging Gwen in his lap. She’d gotten bored while he hesitated and was amusing herself by running her hands over the different animals and talking at them, apparently narrating on her own. “I think we’ll stick to farm animals. Gwen, are you alright with waiting on African wildlife until you’re a bit older?” 

Gwen looked up at him and grinned, clapping her hands.

“I thought so.” 

 

It was late June when he got the text in the middle of the workday, on his way to a meeting. Levi had stayed home for the day, but he hadn’t been able to give himself the same luxury - it was becoming an increasingly frequent pattern again, and running him to the end of his patience. It was strange how much he’d once fought over this exact thing, but with the opposite argument. When Levi and Eren had accused him of working too hard, he’d simply shrugged it off. It was part of his nature, and they would eventually accept that. 

Now it was nothing but a nuisance, and the man he’d been and the man he was becoming often clashed over that particular belief. What his company did and how they did it had once been of the utmost importance to him, but he was beginning to wonder if all of that had been misplaced. There were more important things to agonize over and pour himself into. 

Some days, when he came home to find both Eren and Levi exhausted and put out, he found himself jealous.

But when his phone had buzzed and flashed an all-caps warning that he should head home as soon as humanly possible, something especially grave when it came from Eren, Erwin found no reason to argue it. All he could find himself doing was shoving the file he was holding into Mike’s hands when he found him in the elevator on the way down to his car, using the moments before they reached the bottom floor to absentmindedly coach him on what he would actually be filling in on.

Despite the calmness about him, Erwin could feel a special kind of panic rising up in his chest, and it was one he was still distinctively unfamiliar with. The drive home was a blur. 

The house was quiet when he stepped inside of it, but as he walked closer to the living room, he could hear Gwen’s squeals. He left out the breath he’d been holding, relief washing through him as he stepped inside. Levi was on one end of the room, his arms stretched out, and Eren was holding Gwen on the other. 

Except he wasn’t holding her. When he caught Erwin’s gaze, his eyes flashed, and he grinned down at the baby he was squatting down to hold by the hand. “You want to try it again, Gwen? Wanna walk to Papa?” 

Gwen was sucking on the thumb of the hand that wasn’t being used to cling to Eren’s hand, but she babbled excitedly, pointing in Erwin’s direction, and Eren let go.

She made it about a step and a half before she wobbled and fell onto her bottom, but it was still a step. 

“Oops, down she goes!” Eren laughed, helping her up again. He clung to her arm, her nose scrunched like it always was when she wasn’t particularly happy about something. She screeched at him. “Aw, I know, but you’ll get better at it. Princess Gwen’s going to be a master walker soon!” 

Erwin was frozen in the doorway, watching as Eren led her by the hand again, as she took shaky, hesitant steps that he was supporting her through. “When did this start?”

Levi was the one to answer, his eyes sharp as he looked Erwin over. “Not too long ago. The brat noticed her trying to let go of the couch to grab one of her toys. She made it about an inch before she toppled over. We didn’t get it on video.” 

Eren frowned, turning his head to look back at Erwin while he held Gwen around the waist. “Sorry about that. It’s just my phone wasn’t near me, but I texted you as soon as I could because I thought you’d want to see it. At least you’re here now?” 

Gwen squirmed in Eren’s grip, reaching out for him and wiggling, indignant grunting noises slipping past her as she tried to escape her confinement as always. She’d started to make sounds that might be something like ‘papa’, a loud ‘pah!’ noise every now and then, but he still couldn’t be sure if that was her attempts at his name. She did it now, though, and Erwin found himself swallowing hard, nodding once. 

“I need to check something in my office,” he said, and then he’d walked off. 

 

Gwen was clinging to Percy as she sucked at her pacifier, her legs curled into her body as she gave slow, soft breaths. She’d been getting her legs stuck between the bars of the crib recently, apparently unwilling to sit still even in her sleep, but they’d bought a barrier that separated her from them and it seemed to be working. Erwin couldn’t tear his eyes away from her, leaning down to stroke at her hair, which had seen some very impressive growth lately. The blonde curls seemed to be growing up more than anything, little ringlets that sprouted out of her head and refused to be tamed. She had no patience for them, and when one of them put bows in her hair, she was quick to tug them out and attempt to play with them.

“It’s really cute that you still sing to her,” a voice said from behind him, and Erwin tensed before he relaxed.

“Eren,” he said, turning around and trying to offer a smile in the dim lighting of Gwen’s bedroom. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

Eren shrugged. “Shouldn’t you?” He was there beside him in the next instant, giving him a light shove on the arm. Erwin raised an eyebrow and he rolled his eyes. “We’re not dumb, you know. We all know you’re working yourself up about missing Gwen’s first steps, but you don’t need to. Besides, as awesome as it is, do you think she’s going to remember that? You’re there when it counts, Erwin. That’s all that matters.”

Erwin’s eyes wandered back to the crib, and to his sleeping daughter. “What else am I going to miss, Eren? My father –“

“Isn’t you, and you’re sure as hell not him, otherwise you wouldn’t care that you’ve got to be at work all the time, and you wouldn’t even bother working from home as much as you do.” Eren nudged until he was in Erwin’s arms, and he sighed, wrapping his arms around the younger. “So, what, maybe you miss a couple things. Either way, she knows she’s going to have a Papa who cares a whole lot more about her than the assholes at work.”

“Swear jar,” Erwin muttered, idly, but he didn’t argue. 

“I don’t have any change on me, and she’s asleep, so no go.” Eren was grinning when Erwin looked down at him, and he leaned up to plant a kiss on his cheek. “Let’s go back to bed, okay? It feels weird without you.” 

 

Once summer was in full swing, they took a drive down to the beach with everyone they could fit in Eren’s new car, which was quite a few people. Mikasa and Armin drove down to stay the weekend, and Hanji came along for the ride, too. It had taken some persuading to get Annie to come along with them, but since she was still around the house – getting a steady job was proving more difficult than she’d imagined, and they’d all agreed that she could stay as long as she needed – she got dragged more than she actually agreed, even if she probably needed it more than she was willing to admit. 

Levi had never been a fan of the beach, and spent most of the beginning of the trip pissing and moaning, but he settled down when Eren slathered sun lotion all over him and covered the sand with enough towels that it wasn’t likely to spread to the beach chair he had set up under an umbrella. Gwen, for her part, was absolutely covered in the stuff because Eren was worried about her pale skin burning easily, but it was worth the risk – the adorable green and purple polka-dotted bathing suit she was wearing had frills and a little attached skirt, and the sunhat Hanji had brought her was adorned with a huge pink ribbon. They could barely walk a few steps down the beach before someone was commenting on how sweet she was. 

It was watching her play that ended up being the most fun for all of them. 

She seemed utterly perplexed by the sand, and even more confused at what she was meant to do with the bucket and shovel that Eren offered her, but she did her best with what she had, banging them together and squinting in the sun. When Eren made her a lackluster sandcastle with the help of Armin and Mikasa, lopsided and obviously with a few design flaws that Armin had tried to point out, she had more fun smashing it and giggling, but none of them minded. 

Armin made the castle over again, this time with a more effective mote. Gwen decided she liked that one much better, and she cried when she accidentally crushed it, though when Eren and Mikasa laughed at the look on Armin’s face, she took to laughing, too, attempting to smash it even further – when she had positive reinforcement, there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do. 

While Eren, Mikasa, and Armin went down to the water, Eren with a surfboard under one arm, Hanji had taken over playing in the sand, after Erwin had brushed her off and fed her, and Levi had reapplied sunscreen to his liking. That didn’t last very long.

“Oh, nope! No, don’t do that, honey sweetie pie! That’s bad for you!” Hanji glanced over at Levi, who was reclined back in the beach chair, but apparently heard anyway. He looked up with an arched eyebrow. “Nothing to worry about, you boring old man. We’re just having baby science fun!”

“I can’t believe you made her watch that shit,” Levi sighed.

“Swear jar,” Hanji and Erwin said at the same time, Erwin balancing a book on his lap as he read. “Anyway, don’t worry about it, go back to your nap. I know men your age need that.” 

“You’re the same age as me, shitty glasses,” Levi reminded, then groaned. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Swear jar.”

Hanji hadn’t been paying attention for the moment, but Levi found out what she’d been trying to cover up when Gwen stuck an entire handful of sand into her mouth and promptly burst into upset tears at the taste of it, spitting it out all over her chin and new swimsuit. 

That was the end of Gwen playing in the sand for a long while. 

Eventually, Erwin and Levi were the ones to take Gwen down to the water, holding either of her hands as they reached the edge. Eren was out in the waves, and he watched with a grin, waving over at them. At Erwin’s encouragement, Gwen waved back, but was mostly distracted by the ocean.

“I think she likes it,” Erwin decided, watching her as she bent down and splashed her hands in the tide, making surprised, confused noises every time. Holding onto both of their hands, she bounced up and down, liking the sound she made as she splashed. She’d always loved bath time. “Do you like the water, baby girl? Do you want to play with the fish? You’d be a very beautiful mermaid.” 

Levi nodded as Gwen splashed water all over his legs, squealing and pointing at the waves. She tried to surge forward, but Levi caught her, ignoring her cries of protest. The beach had never been his cup of tea, but when Eren came out to meet them and they walked Gwen down the shore, letting her soar into the air after every, “One, two, three!”, he found he didn’t mind it too much. 

 

When someone else was over, one of their favorite things to do was allow them to take over feeding times, which, since Gwen had started toddling about, had become increasingly difficult. Mostly she liked to throw Percy and whatever other toys she needed to be persuaded with out of her high chair until someone took her out of it, apparently sensing some sort of pattern. She always giggled while she did it, though, which was why none of them could ever be too worked up about it. 

It was still irritating and exhausting, though.

Hanji had a habit of showing up on their doorstep at odd times, and when she’d knocked on their door at seven in the morning on a Sunday, they’d taken it in stride. The three of them were eating breakfast while Hanji took to feeding Gwen, trying to get a few bites into her mouth before the next anxious fit, where she demanded with gestures and incoherent words to be released from her prison. 

She’d already thrown Percy down, and now she was dead set on getting the bowl onto the floor, but Hanji pointed at her, a patient, excited grin on their lips. “No, no, Gwen! That’s bad. Don’t you want Unty Hanji to feed you all the yummy nutrients you need to be big and strong? Don’t you want to have all the vitamins necessary so that your brain can function at its full capacity? Unty Hanji is going to have you learning science by your second birthday, yes they are!” When Gwen’s response was to bang on her tray, she shook her head. “Of course you do! No, no, don’t tell me, Unty Hanji knows!” 

Gwen seemed perplexed by this behavior, and Levi snorted from his place at the table. Then she lifted her little hands, banged them back down, and, clear as day, shouted, “No!” 

The room went completely silent. 

It was Erwin who sat up and walked to the high chair, gently nudging Hanji aside as he squatted down in front of her. “What was that, Gwen? What did you say? Can you repeat it for Papa?” When he got no response except a raspberry, he tried a different tactic. “Did you say ‘no’, Gwen?”

Realizing she had an audience as Eren and Levi gathered around her, too, Gwen wiggled harder, pounding fists on the tray. “No!” she squealed. “No no no no no!” 

In the week that followed, it became her answer for everything. If she wanted her bottle, she would say no. If she wanted to be picked up, she would say no. If she didn’t want a toy, she would say no, but she would say the same thing when she wanted it – it wasn’t that she didn’t understand, because when one of them warned her not to do something, saying it firmly, she took the time to pause.

It was probably something about the way everyone cooed over her the moment the word left her lips. When they stopped encouraging it, she stopped doing it without purpose. When she was being put down for a nap, it was still her absolute favorite thing to say, and, besides ‘Dada’, ‘Pa’ and ‘baba’, the only word she knew. She used it to the best of her ability. 

 

Annie left in the last week of July. She didn’t tell any of them, electing to leave a note behind instead. It was simple and not in any way descriptive – she’d found a job and had decided to move back in with Bertholdt and Reiner. She would be in touch. 

Gwen was confused by the loss of one of her playmates. She wandered around the house, clinging to solid things, and enlisted Percy in the search to find her, waving him about as she called out. “Ni,” she whimpered when she’d peeked into the spare room but still couldn’t find her. “Ni, ni!” 

None of them had the heart to try to explain it to her, so they distracted her instead, always leading her back to some toy or activity. 

 

Gwen’s first birthday was, as expected, a huge to-do. 

First there had been the discussions of the place. Erwin had wanted to rent something out, perhaps a banquet hall, but Levi and Eren were quick to tell him how ridiculous that was. They had plenty of space in their own backyard, Gwen would be more comfortable with the familiar, and, besides, their family and friends didn’t spend nearly as much time at their house as they should anymore. 

Then there had been the guest list. Eren had insisted on friends and family, and Levi had agreed, but there were a few disagreements on exactly what that entailed. Did that mean they could invite Mike, his wife, and their young child? What about particularly close co-workers? They eventually managed to get a list out, and it wasn’t surprising at all that it was a bit too long. They had enough space, though, and the invitations were made and sent. Erwin’s parents, a few close co-workers, including Mike, Hanji, Petra, Auruo, Gunther, and Eld, Mikasa, Armin, Krista, Ymir, and the twins, Sasha, Connie, Marco, Jean, Annie, and whoever they wanted to drag along with them. 

The theme hadn’t been a problem – they’d been unanimous on that one. Gwen was their little princess, and there was nothing she deserved more than a princess-themed birthday party. 

“We don’t need anything over the top,” Levi had warned, his eyes on Erwin as he’d sat at the table scribbling something onto a reminder for himself. “She’s turning one. She won’t remember any of this. It’s more for us than it is for her.” 

Erwin waved his hand, dismissing it as if he knew perfectly well, but it was clear that he didn’t. A day later there was a full-sized castle-shaped tent in their backyard, and you couldn’t step a foot without running into something princess-related. There were tables shaped like crowns, all different colors but mostly variations of pink and light blue, and little glass slippers that held silverware on each of them. The places had princesses’ faces on them. The forks and knives had little gems. Each person to sit at the table got a crown or a tiara, depending on gender (Ymir had decided she’d rather wear the crown and had stolen Eren’s halfway through, and Hanji wore both). 

They’d agreed that Levi and Eren would make the cake together, and they did. It was small, humble, topped off with one candle and Eren’s messy ‘HAPPY BDAY GWENDOLYN SMITH’.

But Erwin ordered a giant replica of a castle anyway, made of more fondant than actual cake. 

And then there were the actresses that the bastard had hired, all who dressed like princesses and walked around greeting everyone who came in. The sound system he’d somehow set up back there didn’t help, either, and it played Disney princess songs on repeat. They twirled Gwen around while everyone watched, and she seemed more than happy to dance along, her footing wobbly but nonetheless determined as she let them lead her. She glowed under the attention, giggling loudly as she continued to flail her arms around and wriggle her body when it earned laughter and clapping from the crowd around her. One of the princesses lifted her up and swung her around, and no one wasn’t charmed when she burst into delighted, loud peals of laughter that turned her face red and knocked her over when she was set back on her feet. 

Gwen was the most beautiful of all the princesses there, of course, dressed in what Eren thought was probably the most expensive dress any one-year-old would ever wear. It shimmered every time she moved, a bright, cheerful aqua that she seemed to prefer, and had gotten in her way for the first hour, before she’d learned how to maneuver in it. She’d taken to pulling at it, and the bows Levi had put in her hair to keep the curls contained had already been pulled out, too, blonde strands flying in front of her eyes again. 

She blew out the candles on both cakes (though really, it was Eren, since Gwen seemed confused by the concept), but the homemade one was offered to her specifically. It was Gwen’s cake.

She shoved her hand right in the middle and promptly attempted to shove the huge piece into her mouth, much to everyone’s amusement and Levi’s disgust. 

Krista, cradling Olivia, now five months old, caught Eren by the arm as Levi ran into the house, muttering something about getting a washcloth to clean Gwen’s face and hands off with. He knew she’d be getting a very thorough bath later. “This is a wonderful party, Eren. Seriously, I don’t know how we’re going to compete with it.” She bounced Olivia in her arms, laughing softly. “Sometimes I feel like Ymir and I are a little too young for this, but… You’re such a good father. She’s really lucky to have you.” 

Eren looked over at Gwen, who was being fawned over by Erwin, trying to get another piece of cake into her mouth as the rest of the party enjoyed pieces of their own, served by the many extravagantly dressed princesses. "Eh, you don’t need to compete with it. I’m sure it’ll be great, whatever you guys do.” He couldn’t help smiling, though, the pride swelling inside of his chest as he watched Levi rush back out, the washcloth all over Gwen’s face and hands as she wriggled and protested and cried out. “But it’s not just me. I wouldn’t be able to do it without the two of them, so I’m sure you’ve got the hang of it better than I do.”

Krista smiled. “She is a lucky girl. She’s got three fathers who love her.” 

Eren nodded, watching his little girl as Levi and Erwin swung her around to settle her down. Erwin crossed his eyes in the way that always made her explode into giggles. People were gathering around her again, watching as Levi swung her by the arms, as she kicked her legs back and forth in her puffy dress. 

“Nah, I think we’re the lucky ones. She’s Goldilocks, we’re just the bears.” At the look he got from Krista, Eren grinned. “It’s our favorite bedtime story. You know, Goldilocks? Because she’s blonde. You should tell it to the twins.”

Krista laughed. “I’ll make sure to.” 

She wandered off to feed Olivia and find Ymir, who had Owen, and Eren found his way back to Erwin and Levi. Erwin’s arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him close, and Levi, who had Gwen nestled into his shoulder, apparently a bit tuckered out by now, patted his hand, and, at Eren’s scowl, smirked as he pulled him in for a kiss. 

“We didn’t ruin her yet,” he said, which meant something else.

Erwin leaned down, bringing Eren with him as he pressed a kiss to Gwen’s head. “Happy birthday, Gwendolyn Smith,” he whispered.

Eren squeezed himself right in the middle of his family, ignoring the flash of Armin’s camera as he took a picture. “And many more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the chapters will probably be just as monstrous from here on out. Get excited because Allie's got the next chapter and it's going to be wonderful. Expect tantrums and more fun child-raising stuff. That's why you're here, right?

**Author's Note:**

> The way this will work, each chapter will be a stage/age of Gwen's life. It will follow almost all the way through it, and each chapter, while definitely connected, will be relatively stand-alone (though will obviously play on events from the chapter(s) before it). That means long, beefy chapters that will probably take some time to get out there, but hopefully ones that are well worth the wait!


End file.
